DirecTV Messes Up Game of Thrones Wagers With Sportsbooks

Television provider DirecTV caused a programming mistake on its streaming service this past weekend, offering up the Game of Thrones premiere four hours early and causing gamblers to adjust bets on the outcome at sportsbooks.

The blunder saw the hit HBO show being offered on the provider's streaming service, and various versions ended up being made public for viewers around the world. This led to those who'd placed wagers on the premiere's outcome to either place, modify, or yank their bets from various books. The wagers flew in and out of books around the world, with one book taking a bath to the tune of five figures.

Those who took bets on the under for deaths came out winning their bets, as only six people died in the premiere, far below the average over the first seven seasons. The betting adjustments aren't uncommon for shows that have wagers, as insiders commonly place wagers on things they know will go down. One book manager told gossip site TMZ: "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."