Online Reporter
NEW YORK.— The high-profile arrest of NBA insiders this week has highlighted the potential risks posed by the close relationship the four major North American men’s sports leagues have cultivated with legalized betting in the United States.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were among more than 30 people charged in connection with two separate but related federal gambling investigations.
Rozier and Jones were alleged to have provided non-public information about upcoming games to allow criminal partners to set up bets on the outcome of games or performances of individual players.
Billups was charged in a separate case involving alleged rigging of high-stakes poker games. The indictment in the other insider information case describes an unnamed co-conspirator, but makes no mention of him.
“Chauncey Billups has never and would never gamble on basketball games, provide insider information, or sacrifice the trust of his team and the league,” his attorney said in a statement.
Rozier’s attorney said that he was previously cleared by the National Basketball Association, and accused prosecutors of reviving a “non-case.” Reuters was unable to reach legal representation for Jones.
Regardless, the charges will surely bring fresh scrutiny on the relationship between online sports books and professional leagues, worth millions of dollars to both sides.
For the leagues, their involvement risks undermining the integrity of their sports.
Leigh Steinberg, a veteran sports agent, said the latest revelations could represent an existential threat to professional sports.
“Part of the reason that we have the massive television contracts, massive crowds in stadiums, fantasy sports and the rest of it, is the feeling these are true contests without outside influence,” he told Reuters.
“If, all of a sudden, these incidents keep occurring, it undercuts the public confidence in the validity of athletic contests,” he said.
FROM RELUCTANCE TO EMBRACE
The Supreme Court in 2018 paved the way for states to legalize sports betting.
The NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League had long opposed legalisation, fearing it would compromise the integrity of their games.
Seven years later, professional sports and online betting platforms are enmeshed in a tight embrace, with ads blanketing television broadcasts and sports books available to fans on their phones and inside arenas and stadiums. With instant accessibility, and big money, the temptation for cheating can explode.
The “Big Four” all have official betting partners. The NBA linked up with MGM Resorts International, opens new tab less than three months after the Supreme Court ruling in a three-year deal worth $25 million, according to ESPN.
Three years later, the National Football League signed its first U.S. partnership with Caesars Entertainment, opens new tab, DraftKings and FanDuel in five-year deals that Sportico estimated was worth $1 billion.
“This was gold rush to a new revenue source,” said Steinberg.
Since the Supreme Court ruling, the Big Four have all suspended players for running afoul of betting rules. —Reuters
