The Billy Walters & Computer Group Era

The **Billy Walters & Computer Group Era (1980s–1990s)** represents the industrialization of sports betting, marking the shift from subjective "wise guy" gambling to quantitative investment. **The Computer Group**, led by mathematician **Michael Kent**, was the first to successfully deploy mainframe computing to model sports outcomes, achieving massive ROI by identifying inefficiencies in Vegas lines. **Billy Walters** refined this model by mastering market execution. He utilized **"head fakes"**—betting on the wrong side to force line movement before hammering his true target—and built a massive logistical network of runners. The era culminated in the 1985 **Operation Sports** FBI raids; the subsequent legal victory for the bettors established the crucial precedent that **syndicate betting is not illegal bookmaking**, legitimizing professional handicapping.