A savage selection on offer.
âBookies hate it but I wonât stop using drones at race meetingsâ
:: Entrepreneurâs airborne camera a hit with fans of inplay gambling
CLAIRE MCNEILLY
A NORTHERN Ireland businessman who has infuriated the horse-racing world by using high-tech drones at meetings has said he has no intention of stopping the controversial practice.
Michael âMickâ McCoolâs airborne cameras allow him to get a short time advantage over punters watching TV Âcoverage of the races online.
Effectively, those using Mr McCoolâs video feeds for live âin-playâ gambling can, if they are quick enough, take advantage of the TV transmission lag and place a bet on a horse they know is going to win.
Remarkably, it is not illegal - and the 49-year-old is already branching out into professional football.
"I have found a niche in the market and they [racecourse owners and online bookmaker giants] donât like that,â an unrepentant Mr McCool said.
"I know the law and thereâs nothing illegal in what Iâm doing. My company [Foxfly, based in Britain] is a legitimate media company, giving a lot of people employment.
"What comes from the drones I use are my images, recorded from a public place, and my intellectual property, which I can use for whatever purpose I want. People watch my pictures on my equipment, in my premises.â
Mr McCool claimed: "If I went beside a racecourse and filmed the picture off their screens, that would be illegal but Iâm not doing that.â
Drone use has escalated since race meetings went behind closed doors in June 2020, with the Covid-19 pandemic removing the split-second advantage on-course punters over their online Âbetting counterparts.
Mr McCool, who now lives near Leicester in England, seized this business opportunity - much to the chagrin of a billion-euro industry that has, according to him, been trying to shut him down ever since.
Two years ago, he was charged over flying a drone in a congested area after being reported by officials of Chelmsford City racecourse in Essex. Flight logs from the drone showed it had been used at 13 other racecourses in the previous two weeks.
The charges were later dropped, with the Crown Prosecution Service paying Mr McCool and an associate over âŹ68,000 in legal fees.
"I get stopped by police all the time - I suspect the racecourse people have contacted them - but they soon realise that Iâm not doing anything wrong,â he said.
"For me as a professional gambler, itâs all about the edge you can get. Some people may have an issue with gambling, but thatâs a different argument. Everyone should gamble responsibly - no one is suggesting otherwise.â
Mr McCool moved to England to work as a greyhound trainer in the 2000s and got involved in professional poker.
In 2006, a fellow competitor introduced him to in-running betting and he started live-streaming races on his mobile for people to put a wager on the outcome.
"Within a few weeks, I was doing it full-time,â he recalled.
This modern-day âgame of dronesâ is reminiscent of the plot of classic Hollywood movie The Sting, where two grifters orchestrate a delay in the radio commentary of a horse race to avenge a friend.
But like all ventures involving gambling, there have been ups and downs. "Iâve been broke a few times,â said Mr McCool.
Sure bookies have reps at racecourses for this reason. More power to him. Betfair pay a lad to stand at the finish post to indicate when a race is over so they can close the market
is a race over first passed the post or the last to finish⌠could be a significant amount of time between those two occurring in a staying chase for example
On the subject of these scumbags, Paddy Power are stopping me from placing any bets at the moment - whenever I click the âplace betâ button a red message pops up and says the bet hasnât been accepted. No matter what I bet on.
Is this anything to do with @Copper_pipe ? Are Paddy Power very anti-tennis gamblers?
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Have you been backing CopperPipes âtipsâ ?
of course I have, anything to fuck the scummy bookies
Joke is on them because theyâve already saved me a fortune. I would have absolutely lumped on Darrick Henry for MVP.
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Win market would be first past the post. Not sure if the place market has betting in running
Does it say youâre restricted to a certain stake or just stops you completely from backing it?
Theyâd normally let you know if you were limitedâŚ
You are restricted. See the thread title for coppers thread.
Portnoy is a clown and comes across as someone who doesnât know how to be wealthy, something like that story was bound to happen when he was picking up random 18/19/20 year olds constantly. He used to be extremely funny but the money ruined him in the last couple if years.
Pennâs sportsbook is fucked if Portnoy becomes toxic, they only advertise through Barstool sports and he is Barstool sports. I think he is free to leave in 2 years time either way so this has to be devastating
I like his pizza reviews
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My favourite, absolute carnage
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A classic of the genre. He gets some great ones. Most of them are samey enough though.
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I like his pizza reviews as well.
I had Lazzaraâs on 38th St there last week last week, Dave Portnoy rating 9.3, Whatever1973 rating a 9.6
Savage was it?
The best Iâve had