How easy is it for athletes to manipulate sports betting?

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier on Thursday became the latest player charged in a criminal gambling scheme involving NBA prop bets.

Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former NBA player Damon Jones were among more than 30 people arrested in a pair of mob-linked gambling schemes, federal prosecutors allege, with Rozier and five others accused of using inside information to bet on NBA contests.

Prosecutors allege that in March 2023, while Rozier was a member of the Charlotte Hornets, he took himself out of a game prematurely due to a fake injury so that other members of the scheme could bet “under” on prop bets tied to his statistics.

Rozier’s case is linked to that of former Toronto Raptors midfielder Jontay Porter, who was banned from the league last year for his role in a prop betting scheme and was mentioned seven times in Thursday’s indictment. Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges involving his performance-fixing in two games during the 2023-2024 season, and is awaiting sentencing.

Promotion bets on very specific individual statistics — “Player

In fact, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in an interview just Tuesday that the league “has asked some of our partners to pull some prop bets, especially when they’re on two-way (contracts), and they’re guys who don’t have the same stake in the competition, where it’s very easy to manipulate something, which otherwise seems small and insignificant to the overall outcome,” according to espn. “We are trying to put some additional controls in place – through learning and working with betting companies – to prevent some of this manipulation.”

Sports leagues no longer shy away from gambling companies

After decades of trying to keep their distance, sports leagues have become increasingly comfortable with gambling companies.

The NFL and NHL have teams in Las Vegas, and MLB’s Athletics franchise will move to the sports gambling mecca in 2028. DraftKings (DKNG) and Flutter Entertainment’s (FLUT) FanDuel are official “sports betting partners” with multiple leagues, and just yesterday, the NHL announced that Kalshi and Polymarket have become their “official prediction market partners”, as a sport. “Event contracts” are becoming more common.

DraftKings and FanDuel Say technology detects illegal behavior

“When reports emerge that players or coaches engage in sports betting in violation of league rules or illegally, the media often blames such activity on the spread of legal sports betting,” the American Gaming Association says. “But these investigations — and the headlines they generate — are made possible because Sports betting is legal, transparent and regulated. Early detection and high-level reporting of suspicious activity is a sign that legal market barriers are playing their intended role.

In the wake of today’s arrests, both official partners of NBA DraftKings and FanDuel issued statements calling for regulated sports betting to eliminate illegal conduct and maintain the integrity of gaming.

“We fundamentally believe that regulated online sports betting is the best way forward to monitor and detect suspicious behavior while providing consumer protections backed by advanced technology, none of which exists in the widespread illegal market,” a DraftKings spokesperson said. “Although regulation cannot eliminate all concerns about game integrity, it significantly reduces risks by enabling cooperation between operators, leagues, teams and relevant authorities to identify and hold accountable anyone involved in illegal conduct.”

“Today’s events are deeply disturbing, and should concern fans, athletes, and everyone who loves sports and values ​​integrity and fair play,” a FanDuel spokesperson said. “It also illustrates the stark contrast between legal and illegal betting markets. At FanDuel, we use advanced technology and real-time monitoring to identify suspicious activity and work closely with leagues, data monitoring groups and law enforcement.”