ADWs hit by cyber attack

Xpressbet, one of the leading national account-wagering companies in the U.S., said that a coordinated attack on its servers led to a disruption in its service on Saturday afternoon, which affected betting on the Pacific Classic and a number of other high-profile races.

In a statement posted on its website, Xpressbet said it was the target of a “sophisticated” distributed denial of service attack, a tactic in which operators flood a server with requests in order to slow or stop operations. The company’s servers had previously been targeted by such attacks over the past several months, “the majority of which were mitigated quickly and without interruption to your wagering service,” the statement read.

“We apologize for the inconvenience this caused, and assure you we are working tirelessly to continue providing you an unparalleled wagering experience,” the statement said.

Xpressbet provides bet-processing services for Daily Racing Form’s account-wagering platform, DRFBets.

Xpressbet also said in its statement that the attack did not compromise the company’s security over customers’ passwords and credit-card data.

TVG, the largest account-wagering operation in the U.S. by handle, also experienced disruptions Saturday afternoon. TVG officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Del Mar officials had said that the disruptions on Saturday cost the track up to $2 million in betting on that day’s card. Total handle was $19.4 million on Saturday, down approximately 4 percent from last year’s figure of $20.2 million.