Prominent Sports Bettors Start Business to Look Out for American Bettors

Billy Walters, Spanky Kyrollos Hope Non-Profit Gives Voice to Many

A pair of famous sports bettors are teaming up to form a non-profit they hope will give those who wager on sports “a seat at the table in the rapidly expanding U.S. online sports betting markets.” Billy Walters and Spanky Kyrollos have launched American Bettors Voice, in sports betting news.

“At this stage in my life, I am eager to give back to an activity that has given me so much,” Walters said in a press release. “Bettors deserve to be treated fairly, and we at American Bettors‘ Voice are unwavering in our commitment to this cause.

The sports betting market is booming as it continues to legally expand state by state. Walters and Kyrollos’ ABV will be based in Nevada.

Per the news release announcing ABV:

A reality of U.S. online sports betting is that many actors within the ecosystem have generally not demonstrated an interest in interacting with sports bettors other than as streams of data to be manipulated.

This disinterested group of actors includes operators, regulators, affiliates, lobbyists, consultants, and related entities. This is a threat to the sustainability of the sports betting industry. Moreover, the political and regulatory entities cannot successfully fulfill their mandates without engaging with the sports betting consumer.

Mr. Kyrollos, the organization‘s Chairman, noted: “This organization is the perfect complement to BetBash and the Sports Gambling Hall of Fame. Bettors need a voice, and we intend for these voices to be heard.”

There is a five-person advisory board that is comprised of Brianne Doura-Schawohl, Susan Hensel, Allison McCoy, Brett Smiley, and Eric Raskin. Smiley and Raskin were both formerly employees of Sports Handle’s parent company, Better Collective, and Smiley founded Sports Handle.

Who are Walters and Kyrollos?

Walters is regarded as one of the most successful sports bettors in history. He had a 30-year winning streak, defying sports betting odds. He has long since gone into business, written a New York Times best-selling book, and become a noted philanthropist.

Kyrollos has New Jersey roots and employs a team of analysts to determine what games are bettable. He is the founder of Betbash. Last July, Kyrollos did an interview with GGB Magazine.

How much has sports betting changed for you since it was legalized in the U.S.?

In the regulated markets in the last several years, I’ve been pretty much kicked out of everywhere, unfortunately. So it really hasn’t changed much for me. Most of my action is still bet primarily offshore. That being said, we still have a couple of U.S. sites we use. It’s just unfortunate that I have to rely on beards or guys that bet in disguise, pretending that they’re betting for themselves, but I’m their partner.

There’s no such thing as me as Spanky going to a sportsbook anymore. They’ll show me the door. However, if you have somebody that just looks like a regular guy and they’re betting, that’s a different story. So it’s a cat-and-mouse game that you have to do. It’s a shame that’s the case, but that’s just the current environment as it stands.

Kyrollos Mentioned in Recent Lawsuit

All the news around Kyrollos recently has not been positive. Last month he was part of a lawsuit claiming alleged extortion.

Per SportsHandle.com, according to a New York lawsuit, a plaintiff claimed he was approached by a “masked man” on a Long Island City subway platform in March 2023 as part of a commute to his Manhattan office. There, the presumed assailant grabbed the individual, whirled him around, and threatened to kill him unless he paid $500,000 to Kyrollos, the plaintiff alleged.

According to the lawsuit, Kyrollos claimed weeks earlier that he had access to the “upper echelon” of DraftKings‘ staff and that they’d provide him with confidential information on the plaintiff’s betting account, the plaintiff further alleged. Initially filed in Supreme Court, Queens County, John Doe vs. DraftKings, Inc., was moved to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in April.

Kyrollos posted his response on his Twitter account, which has more than 44,000 followers:

American Bettors Voice aims to advocate for fair treatment of bettors and actively engage with the sports betting community.


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