There had been a serious amount of wagers placed on the last season of Game of Thrones, but some gamblers scored big on the first episode this past Sunday without having to work at it. It’s all thanks to DirecTV, which inadvertently offered the episode four hours ahead of schedule through its streaming service, giving gamblers a look into the future to place, or pull, their bets.
The major faux pas cost a number of sportsbooks some cash. The number of prop bets surrounding the first episode had been staggering—with entries such as who would speak first—and the move by DirecTV spoiled virtually all of them. One bookmaker out of Antigua indicated that it had lost in the “low five figures” on the “who would speak first” question.
Whether or not DirecTV intentionally offered the stream or it was an honest mistake is the subject of debate. There have already been a number of leaks on the series and, leading up to the premiere, certain odds had changed (some from 4/1 to evens), indicating that there might have been some nefarious action going on.
The Antiguan bookmaker, in speaking with TMZ, stated, “We assume that someone with inside knowledge was either betting heavily or telling all of their friends to do so. This type of stuff does occur in our industry, and we obviously can’t verify if there was a leak, but the betting action pointed to one.”
For those who turn to Game of Thrones for the deaths (there were 174,373 in the first seven seasons), the premiere was most likely a letdown. Only six people died on Sunday, but the remaining five episodes will most likely add significantly to the body count. Identifying who might go next has just been made a little easier with the help of an algorithm created by German scientists.
Through machine learning and in-universe data points that focus on specific character data—gender, social status, alliances, marital status, family house and more—the algorithm takes a stab at who will be next to meet his or her maker. Currently, Bronn the mercenary is apparently close to dancing with the Grim Reaper and has odds of 93.5% of being the next to go. After him, “The Mountain” Gregor Clegane has odds of 80.3%.
