Legendary gambler Billy Walters looks like he may be getting ready to let the public in on some of the tricks of his former trade, potentially adding his voice to the growing business of online sports betting in the United States.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's website, trademark applications were recently filed for "BILLY WALTERS," "THE BILLY WALTERS HANDICAPPING SYSTEM," and "THE BILLY WALTERS SPORTS HANDICAPPING SYSTEM."
The goods and services attached to the trademarks include "providing news, information, consultation and commentary in the field of sports, entertainment, sports teams, athletes, sporting events, sportsbetting (sic) and gaming."
They also include a smartphone app that could deliver similar insights, according to the filings.
Trademark attorney Josh Gerben first noted the Walters filings, journalist Darren Rovell reported. Covers emailed the attorney of record for the filings but did not receive a response before this article was published.
The trademark applications claim that Walters will launch an APP to "provide statistical analysis of sports teams, athletes, sporting events, sports betting and gaming." pic.twitter.com/SZYuqtGGKP
— Josh Gerben (@JoshGerben) August 1, 2022
However, the applicant for the trademarks is Las Vegas Gambler LLC, a company with the same address as the Walters Group, which is Walters’ business, according to the website for the Las Vegas chamber of commerce.
What’s more, the filings note that the “name(s), portrait(s), and/or signature(s) shown in the mark identifies WILLIAM T. WALTERS, whose consent(s) to register is made of record.”
The filings also line up with what Walters has said publicly, which is that he’s preparing to publicly disclose what he’s learned about sports betting in a forthcoming book with journalist Armen Keteyian.
"I think I can help a lot of people," Walters said during a pre-Super Bowl interview on VSiN this year. "I'm going to put in 64 years of everything that I've learned about gambling and sports betting. And I'm going to include in the book everything that I know, whether it be technical or non-technical."
'Useful information'
Walters is well-known for being one of the most successful sports bettors of all time, "pioneering the use of computer analytics to handicap games," his website notes.
For example, Walters' exploits reportedly include a $3.5-million win on Super Bowl XLIV. He is now said to have retired from gambling but parlayed his past successes into investments in real estate and the golf industry.
Walters, though, did run into some legal issues, as he was convicted of insider trading in 2017. However, he alleges the case was "marred by government misconduct" and denies any wrongdoing, his website says.
Walters was sentenced to five years in prison. But, in early 2021, Walters was pardoned by the outgoing U.S. president, Donald Trump.
The famous gambler now appears to be planning to make a splash in the legal sports betting industry, which has expanded across the United States following a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2018 that paved the way.
“It’s all about useful information,” Walters said during the VSiN interview. “Everyone has got information, identifying the correct information is sometimes the most difficult."
