About this app
What is Fast Money?
Since the Supreme Court’s PASPA decision in 2018, there has been an uptick on harassment against athletes from bettors. The collection of incidents, in the view of the industry, is typically construed as both troubling and prevalent. Against a backdrop of alarming threats in numerous sports, perhaps the most disconcerting occurred at the hands of Benjamin “Parlay” Patz, a California bettor.
Approximately 15 months after the high court’s ruling, Patz sent a series of explicit messages to four members of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, threatening to “sever” their necks open. Accused by federal investigators of targeting more than 300 accounts of pro and college athletes, Patz pleaded guilty in 2021 to transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce. Although a judge ordered Patz to undergo mental health treatment and abstain from gambling, he did not sentence the bettor to prison.
Years later, former Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin convened a sports betting hearing in December 2024, the first federal hearing held on the subject in six years. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, opened the hearing with an anecdote from March Madness the prior season. Despite recording a double-double in a win over Michigan State, former North Carolina center Armando Bacot received more than 100 threats on social media, Durbin told the committee. Bacot, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, drew the ire of bettors for missing the “over” on his rebound total.
About Fast Money
The value of this release lies in what it says about franchise strategy. The Big Bass series has become one of Pragmatic Play’s most reliable engines, and reskinning a proven math model with seasonal theming is a low-risk way to keep the brand visible during a commercially significant window.
Halloween is a natural peg for that approach. It gives operators a topical, franchise-branded title to feature in October promotions without asking players to learn a new system. The friendly Count Dracula fisherman and trick-or-treat trimmings supply the seasonal hook while the underlying fish-collection loop does the heavy lifting.
signals how far Pragmatic Play is willing to push iteration on a recognizable mechanical family
How to play Fast Money
The leadership team highlighted access to OpenBet’s wider scale, capabilities and product portfolio as a significant benefit of the deal.
Its platform supports omnichannel betting across the EMEA region, with integrated trading, risk management and back-office functionalities.
“Our focus has always been on providing our customers with reliable technology, deep expertise and long-term partnership, said Torrejón and Gábor.
