The prolific rise of legal sports betting has brought increasing scrutiny to athletes and regulated sportsbooks.
Little-known NBA player Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban for intentionally leaving games early on the behest of sports bettors is the most notable among a list of gambling-related offenses that seem to increase rapidly. This was compounded by reports that these same bettors may have been involved with Terry Rozier, an established NBA player with more than $100 million in career earnings, who similarly left a game early with an injury.
Media members, politicians, and sports fans have been quick to link these scandals to regulated sportsbooks’ growth. Though it seems counterintuitive on the surface, the exposure of these scandals are an indicator the regulated sports betting industry is working as intended.
Regulated books offer one of the tools that can catch nefarious betting activity, John Pappas of Corridor Consulting, a government policy advocacy group, told Covers.
“The investigation into Terry Rozier isn’t a failure of sports betting legalization – it’s proof that the regulated market is working,” said Pappas. “In an unregulated world this would have gone unnoticed.
“Transparency, oversight, and integrity are the hallmarks of legal sports betting, and the case underscores why regulation matters,” Pappas said.
Legal books upend unregulated legacy
Sports gambling was well-documented in ancient Rome and assuredly existed for nearly as long as humans gambled or competed in sports.
American sports have been dotted with scandals since the formation of professional leagues nearly 150 years ago. The “Black Sox” Scandal involving the Chicago White Sox in the 1919 World Series remains a seminal moment in sports. Decades later, Pete Rose, baseball’s all-time hits leader, was banned from MLB for life for betting on games.
The ensuing decades brought more scandals in nearly all major sports. In the 2000s, NBA referee Tim Donaghy became a household name after he was sentenced to prison for taking payment from bettors in exchange for inside information on games.
Since the Supreme Court struck down the federal wagering ban in 2018 – and legal sportsbook advertisements inundated seemingly every sporting event – each ensuing scandal has increased scrutiny on legal books. This has been compounded by the major professional sports leagues – the same organizations that for decades opposed gambling, arguing it threatened the integrity of the game – promptly embracing legal gambling after the court’s decision.
Maybe—just maybe—plastering sports betting ads across every inch of televised sports wasn’t the best move for the integrity of the game. https://t.co/0OHlKoTmAN
— Ovi Kabir (@ovikabir) January 31, 2025
Making perception worse is a wave of prohibited gambling activities in the ensuing years.
Nearly a dozen NFL players have been suspended for betting, including wide receiver Calvin Ridley. MLB superstar Shohei Othani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizhuara, pled guilty to bank and tax fraud as part of a gambling investigation that many feared involved the player. The Rozier investigation has reignited worries about the scope of Porter’s actions. That follows multiple investigations into suspicious betting on college sports.
And in recent days one of MLB’s most lauded umpires was fired for sharing a sports betting account that had placed bets on baseball.
The commonality is that all were discovered by safeguards from legal sportsbooks.
Importance of monitoring
Every major U.S. competition offered by regulated, licensed sportsbooks is monitored by third-party integrity services. The most notable include IC360, formally Integrity USA, as well as Sportradar, which have helped alert authorities to many of these scandals.
These discoveries have alarmed the media and the public, but they wouldn’t be found without the integrity providers.
Integrity services track millions of bettors across hundreds of millions of bets to detect unusual patterns, especially around individual player prop bets such as points scored or yards thrown for, which involve one athlete and could be more susceptible to manipulation. The tracking programs can also see if a cluster of unusual bets are being placed from one location.
After several years of rising suspicious match detections, we saw a notable decline in match-fixing worldwide. Using advanced AI & data analytics, along with our dedicated integrity services team, we’re committed to detecting & preventing corruption.
— Sportradar (@Sportradar) January 9, 2025
📖: https://t.co/RAon0R5CrA pic.twitter.com/MYXowN6eWm
If there is unexpected or disproportionate money wagered on a game or prop, groups such as IC360 can alert authorities. This is a benefit that comes with legal books; offshore sites or unlicensed bookies are not reporting their wagers to outside authorities.
Sports leagues have also worked to combat illicit gambling through their affiliations with integrity monitors. Many leagues, including the NFL, have also strengthened departments meant to look for integrity violations.
It also doesn’t appear the expansion of regulated sports betting in the past seven years has led to an unlawful gambling boom. Of the more than 2,500 NBA games played since the Porter bets came to light, the Wall Street Journal reports only three drew alerts from IC 360. Two involved Porter and one involved Rozier.
Solutions
That isn’t to say the legal industry is without flaws.
Sports betting, both with legal and illegal books, has grown as it becomes more prevalent and culturally acceptable. Younger Americans are the largest-growing betting block, a demographic group that requires increased gambling education and awareness.
Athletes, too, need to be properly informed about betting. While it's widely understood betting on one’s own sport is prohibited, there’s nothing to stop athletes from betting on other leagues.
The sportsbooks themselves, through partnerships with high-profile current athletes such as LeBron James and Connor McDavid, have not made this easier. These deals have drawn scrutiny and raise questions about the integrity of sports.
The leagues also have to be aware of perception. While the NFL is seeing record audiences, the risk remains non-bettors (the majority of viewers) may tune out if they suspect games are unfair.
But the illegal betting activities, as jarring as they are, represent rare exceptions in an industry where millions of customers are betting without any nefarious activity. The fact integrity services have captured illegal betting with legal books is an indication regulation is working.
Part I – Negative Effects of Gambling Legalization Overblown
Part II – The Average American Sports Bettor Gambles Infrequently
Part III – Gambling Isn't Ruining the Game
Part IV – Whither the Winners?
Part V – Legal Sportsbooks Offer Protections Against Corruption
Part VI – Wish List (Friday)
