Facebook betting groups

lifeandtimes

Hey,

I'd like to see people's opinions and any law that can be quoted regarding these betting groups.

These are groups who offer tips on sports.

They put out a Facebook post and pay for it to be reached by a certain number of people who them contact them for the tip. Then they will give half the followers one team to win and the other half the other team to win. Obviously the followers who's team win think it's great and contact them again only this time they will charge them a few for the tip. As the followers have won and have cash they have no problem doing this. Then they do the same again and so forth,raising the cost of the tip each time until they are down to the minimum number of followers this works with and then shut down their page and contactable details etc .

Is this sort of scam illegal?

I have feeling depending on the wording it wouldnt.

Illegal Example: contact us for guaranteed fixed match tips.

Not illegal: contact us for genuine betting tips

As the second example doesn't guarantee a win it might be ok but I'm open to correction .

The followers aren't obliged to part with their money and the page then advise the losers (if they even reply to them) that that's just gambling and you win some and lose some.

Also would the scammers be knowingly defrauding people on 50/50 bets as they wouldn't know who wins until the match is finished.

I've been curious about these since I see them popping up on ads.

Any input and opinion is welcome

Atlantic Dawn

It sounds to me no different to paying money to see a psychic.

lifeandtimes

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

It sounds to me no different to paying money to see a psychic.

Good example actually.

It has a moral stigma to it knowing 50% will lose but that's gambling I suppose if people are silly enough to part with their cash for tips that's their business.

I was just curious is there legal stipulations to providing information and receiving money for it but I think your psychic reference explains it

Mr. Incognito

No- I dont believe it's illegal with regard to the contract.

Any contract based on gambling is illegal.

You are not legally buying a service that can result in an enforceable contract.

That's not to say that it's not a crime. They could be prosecuted for fraud or theft.

plodder

Interesting scam. What about vicarious liability on facebook? Taking money to pass the information on to specific people who then get sucked in? I suppose they'll claim they can't be aware of the content, but I'd say there's an argument to be had there.

Sounds like a kind of upside-down pyramid too, and fraudulent in that sense. Just curious about how much the tips end up costing at the end ... ?

ArmaniJeanss

plodder wrote: »

Sounds like a kind of upside-down pyramid too, and fraudulent in that sense. Just curious about how much the tips end up costing at the end ... ?

Exponential at each level as you'd expect.
The person who's willing to chance $10 at level 512 will likely be willing to pay $100 at level 64 and maybe $1K at level 8 or 4 as they've had 6/7 winners on the trot at that stage, have a wallet of winnings and really believe in it now.

lifeandtimes

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Exponential at each level as you'd expect.
The person who's willing to chance $10 at level 512 will likely be willing to pay $100 at level 64 and maybe $1K at level 8 or 4 as they've had 6/7 winners on the trot at that stage, have a wallet of winnings and really believe in it now.

Yeah that pretty much the jist of it.

But I haven't heard of any cases of people being prosecuted for it. Might be that the people who made it past the first few rounds are happy enough with the winnings they have got at atage and don't see it as a scam maybe?