A former Betfair exec says Pinnacle Sports’ claim of suspicious betting patterns on an Australian Open tennis match was a publicity stunt.

The day after prominent online bookmaker Pinnacle went public with claims of having identified suspicious betting patterns on a mixed-doubles match at the 2016 Australian Open, Scott Ferguson accused the site of making a “cheap grab at free publicity.”

Ferguson, who formerly served as head of education at Betfair and now works as an industry consultant, told Fairfax Media that he doubted Pinnacle’s sincerity given that neither Betfair nor tournament sponsor William Hill reported unusual activity on the match in question.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Betfair attracted $25k in wagering on the match in question but Fairfax said Betfair had taken only $11k and the site kept markets open – including in-play bets – even after Pinnacle went public with its claims. A William Hill Australia spokesperson said the site “saw no suspicious betting activity” on the match.