Online Gambling Pioneer Nephew Doug Ducey Widens Gap in AZ Governor’s Race

With just days before the elections, polls show Republican Doug Ducey ahead of Democratic candidate Fred DuVal in the Arizona gubernatorial race.

Rasmussen Reports Ducey earned 47 percent of the vote compared to DuVal's 42 percent while a Tarrance Group poll shows a much wider margin of 43 to 36 percent.  The Republican Attorneys General Association poll, however, shows the race to be a virtual dead heat.  Current Governor Jan Brewer can no longer serve as Governor of the state due to term limits.

Ducey is the nephew of online gambling pioneer Bill Scott (Anglisized Scotti), who ran one of the first successful online gambling sports betting businesses, World Wide Tele Sports (WWTS) out of the Caribbean island nation of Antigua.  That business later merged with a publicly traded Australian betting firm and would eventually be absorbed into the Bodog Brand conglomerate.

Some political operatives have attempted to use the family connections against Ducey, claiming his maternal family engaged in mob-related activities back in their native Ohio prior to setting up WWTS offshore.  Ducey has never been tied directly to his extended family’s business enterprise.

In an odd twist, Scott's long time business partner, Jessica Davis, was the granddaughter of a former North Dakota Governor.

It was former long time Arizona Senator, Jon Kyl, who ultimately brought the online gambling industry to its knees after pushing through prohibition that banned most forms of the activity in late 2006. 

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com