Whether caused by the proliferation of legal sports betting or uncovered by it, gambling controversies are infringing upon US sports, and leagues and players’ unions are taking notice.
So are federal authorities and politicians.
Three NBA players – Jontay Porter, Terry Rozier and Malik Beasley – are involved in a federal investigation into gambling improprieties. Suspicious betting patterns were flagged on the ‘unders’ of all three players’ prop bets. Relatedly, indictments reportedly loom around an involved gambling ring
Meanwhile, a disturbing trend of disgruntled gamblers harassing and threatening athletes after losing bets has emerged.
NBA, NBPA want to reign in prop betting
Now, the NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) say they want sportsbooks to remove certain types of bets from their wagering menus to reduce the risk of players manipulating their own stats and to curb abuse of their athletes.
That’s in addition to the league having already asked sportsbooks to halt ‘under’ bets on props for players on two-way contracts.
“Protecting the integrity of our game is paramount, and we believe reasonable limitations on certain prop bets should be given due consideration,” an NBA spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “Any approach should aim to reduce the risk of performance manipulation while ensuring that fans who wish to place prop bets can continue to do so via legal, regulated markets.”
Found to have taken himself out of two games due to feigned health issues for the benefit of gamblers who bet the ‘under’ on his props, Porter has been suspended for life by the NBA.
Beyond the Porter situation, the NBPA maintains it has yet to see evidence of performance manipulation, but says it’s concerned with player harassment.
“NBA players compete at the highest level with the utmost integrity and are concerned that prop bets have become an increasingly alarming source of player harassment, both online and in person,” an NBPA spokesperson told The Athletic. “If tighter regulations can help minimize that abuse, then we support taking a closer look at them.”
Game-fixing indictments incoming
Related to the same federal probe, indictments around game fixing in college basketball are on the horizon.
SI.com reports multiple teams are involved in the investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which is particularly focused on “Southern schools.”
“There are going to be charges,” a source told SI. “It’s going to be national in scope. It’s going to involve multiple players and programs.”
The same gambling ring that has been charged in the Porter case is involved in wagering on at least nine college basketball games. The NCAA is performing its own investigations into several players and at least five programs, including New Orleans, Eastern Michigan, Mississippi Valley State and Temple.
Five people have already been charged by federal prosecutors in the Porter scheme, four of whom pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Does ‘micro-betting’ exacerbate the problem?
MLB is dealing with its own potential scandals. Two Cleveland Guardians pitchers – Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase – have been placed on no-disciplinary paid leave while the league investigates suspicious “micro-bets” on specific pitches they threw.
Micro-bets, a form of props, are wagers on specific events within a game – whether a pitch will be a ball or strike, for example.
Meanwhile, steps are being taken in at least two states to ban micro-betting.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is asking the Ohio Casino Control Commission to remove this type of wagering from the state’s approved list, and New Jersey Assemblyman Dan Hutchison introduced bill A5971 that would prohibit the state’s licensed operators from offering micro-bets.
Prop betting is susceptible to game fixing. All it takes is someone like Porter to pull himself out of a game early, injured or not – his brother, Nets forward Michael Porter, said as much on the “One Night With Steiny” podcast last week – or for a pitcher to intentionally throw one outside the strike zone.
Limiting wagering menus will be met with resistance by sportsbooks, but nervous stakeholders are angling to do just that.
