Design flaw in CNBC game led to cheating

Tim Catts of BusinessWeek writes that there was a design flaw in the CNBC stock investing game that led to cheating by some of its viewers.

Catts wrote, “Several contest participants have told BusinessWeek that there was a flaw in the design of the CNBC game that allowed certain players an unfair advantage. As many as four of the top contestants in the million-dollar contest may have exploited the flaw, according to the participants interviewed by BusinessWeek. On May 30, two weeks after Kraber says he notified the cable channel, CNBC posted a notice on its Web site that there have been allegations of trading strategies ‘in violation of the contest rules’ and that it is investigating the issue. It has not disclosed the nature of the alleged problems.

“For what is essentially the American Idol of stockpicking, the stakes are sky-high. A million dollars is on the line for the ultimate winner of the contest, along with fame and future opportunity. CNBC, which bills itself as the essential news channel for investors and businesspeople, has a reputation to protect. With constant promotion from channel anchors like Becky Quick and Joe Kiernan, the contest attracted 375,000 participants and nearly tripled the traffic to CNBC’s Web site. Now, the channel, which is part of General Electric, may have to publicly acknowledge mismanagement of the contest and could face potential lawsuits from disgruntled participants.”

Read more here.