The Obscure Tech at the Heart of the Bombshell NBA Gambling Scandal

Since the invention of the card game, players have been looking for ways to stack the deck. Now, with the development of automated card shufflers, it would appear that a group well practiced in such illicit activities—the Costa Nostra mafia—may have found a new way to rig games for easy money. And, weirdly enough, those games are alleged to have involved a bunch of current and former NBA officials and players, who are now in quite a bit of trouble.

A new federal indictment claims that members of organized crime families hosted games that used hacked card shufflers. Those shufflers allowed the players who were in on the ruse to play accordingly and win big time, the indictment claims. The story was originally picked up by Wired, which says it managed to reproduce a hack of one particular brand of card shuffler, the Deckmate 2.

The indictment doesn’t mention the brand of deck shuffler relevant to the case, although Wired has reported the following:

In their games…several alleged defendants are said to have used pre-rigged Deckmate 2 shufflers under their own control rather than hack machines owned by others via their USB port [the machines can also be hacked, the outlet notes].

However, the accused schemers at the heart of the case are also said to have used a whole assortment of other bizarre technologies to keep the odds in their favor. According to the indictment, those technologies included “electronic poker chip trays” that could “secretly read cards placed on the poker table.” They also allegedly used card analyzers that were “loaded onto decoy cellular telephones.” Finally, they are also accused of using cards that were outfitted with hidden “markers,” the likes of which were only visible to “individuals wearing specially designed contact lenses or sunglasses.” The whole thing is less The Godfathermore James Bond.

The defendants listed in the case include a member of the Bonanno crime family, multiple associates and members of the Gambino crime family, and a former member of the Genovese crime family, among many other conspirators. The games were allegedly hosted in New York City, and the indictment says that the organizers would invite wealthy players and try to encourage their participation by involving “well known former professional athletes” in the games. Indeed, several NBA members have been arrested as part of the probe into the scheme, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was also arrested as part of a separate probe into an illegal sports betting scheme that used insider information, ESPN writes.

Even outside of the alleged cheating, the games in question were illegal, the indictment says (it is illegal to gamble for money in New York without the appropriate licenses). Humorously, the indictment claims that many of the participants still thought they were participating in “straight” illegal games—ostensibly illegal games that were being played fairly. Instead, the indictment alleges:

…the defendants and their co-conspirators…worked together on cheating teams (collectively, the “Cheating Teams”) that used advanced wireless technologies to read the cards dealt in each poker hand and relay that information to the defendants and coconspirators participating in the illegal poker games (collectively, the “Rigged Games”). The defendants and their co-conspirators then bet accordingly to ensure that the unsuspecting Victims lost money.

The indictment says that the games in question were “on record” with, and operated with the express permission and approval of, members and associates of certain organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra, who provided support and protection for the games and collected owed debts from the games in exchange for a portion of the illegal gambling proceeds.” The indictment adds that the defendants made “millions” through the scheme.

This also isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the hacking of shuffling machines. Back in 2023, Wired reported on the work of security researchers at Blackhat who showed it was quite easy to penetrate the defenses of devices like the Deckmate. Gizmodo reached out to Deckmate’s parent company, Light & Magic, for comment. The company provided the following statement: “We are aware of the news reports regarding the indictment against the named defendants, who are not affiliated with our company. We sell and lease our automatic card shufflers and other gaming products and services only to licensed casinos and other licensed gaming establishments. We will cooperate in any law enforcement investigation related to this indictment.”