shocking indictment More than 30 people were arrestedincluding Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures over illegal sports betting charges, sparking new scrutiny of the booming professional sports betting business across the U.S.
Since widespread legalization, the multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for people to bet on everything from game outcomes to single-player play with just a few clicks on their phones. Today, it is almost impossible to watch a basketball, football, baseball or other professional game, or watch a game on television, without seeing sports betting ads.
Fans can place bets from their stadium seats while “bet” quotes scroll on the TV sports broadcasts. Star athletes are often at the center of ads promoting all this.
In Thursday’s indictment, federal investigators charged Rozier and other defendants with violating the law Use private information Betting on players winning NBA games. Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusti, said in a statement that his client is “not a gambler” and “expects to win this fight.”
separate indictment Claims Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and others in a conspiracy to rig a high-stakes card game. Billups’ attorney, Chris Haywood, issued a statement denying the allegations, calling his client a “man of integrity.”
Regulating sports betting has proven to be a challenge, with experts warning of consequences for gamblers who often lose money. Concerns have been raised over the role that professional leagues themselves play in promoting gambling.
Here’s what we know.
Sports betting legalization surges
Sports betting is probably as old as sports themselves. But in the United States, legal gambling really took off in 2018.
At this time, the Supreme Court knocked down The Pro-Amateur Sports Protection Act prohibits sports betting in most states. Once only allowed in Nevada, 38 states now allow sports betting online or in retail stores, with Washington, D.C., Missouri becoming the 39th state on December 1.
Experts say the biggest jump is online, via smartphone apps and platforms such as Draft king Duel with fans. Legal sports betting generated $10 billion in revenue through the third quarter of this year, up about 19% from the same period last year, according to the American Gaming Association.
The industry believes legal betting generates revenue for states and deters illegal betting. Major operators pointed to the technology they use to monitor suspicious activity. FanDuel said Thursday’s news illustrates “the stark contrast between legal and illegal betting markets.”
Who benefits?
There is a lot of money on the table for those who place winning bets and the platforms that make it possible. The NBA and other professional sports leagues also create revenue streams by partnering with sportsbooks and generating advertising revenue.
The live game statistics provided by the league are key to the relationship between the sports world and the betting industry. Isaac Rose-Berman, a researcher at the National Institute for Boys and Men whose research focuses on sports betting, said that when you can bet on what the next pitch in a baseball game will be, it’s because Major League Baseball is selling data to the platform “at a pretty high price.”
The NBA has partnered with Sportradar for its data rights. Sportradar provides official NBA statistics from FanDuel Sportsbook. When the deal was announced in 2022, Sportradar promoted it as a way to “monetize our long-term partnership with the NBA.”
How is sports betting regulated?
Each state has its own sports betting regulations and tax rates. Some of them limit where you can place bets – for example, allowing users to use the mobile app, but only if they’re physically inside the casino or within a specific radius of the stadium. Others limit which betting platforms you can use or what you can bet on.
“States have opened a can of worms, and now some of them are starting to realize how crazy this sports betting world is,” said Wayne Taylor, a marketing professor at Southern Methodist University.
A trickier factor is the involvement of players and other team or league personnel. NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL All employees and players banned Betting on one’s own league is prohibited, although some gambling is allowed in different regions.
Legalized betting has certain security advantages, as unusual betting patterns (such as large bets on the performance of random players) can be flagged immediately. In some cases, sportsbooks have lowered the odds on certain events to prevent manipulation.
Still, experts like Taylor point out that a company’s own financial interests can pose problems. He said that across sports markets, the large number of players and the range of possibilities for small stakes made potential manipulation “easier to hide”.
What is prop betting?
A prop is a type of bet that allows bettors to bet on whether a certain player will exceed a certain statistic, such as whether a basketball player’s total of points, rebounds, assists, etc. will be higher or lower than a specific total.
Such bets are key to a sports betting investigation announced Thursday. Investigators pointed out that on March 23, 2023, Rozier, who was playing for the Charlotte Hornets at the time, participated in a game.
Rozier played the first 9 minutes and 36 seconds of that game, but not only did he not return that night because of a foot problem, but he also did not play again that season. He finished with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, a productive first quarter but well below his usual game-long total output. At the time, many bettors took to social media to say something fishy was going on with prop bets involving his statistics for the night.
More broadly, the NBA has expressed concerns about proprietary betting, while other sports leagues worry about potential manipulation.
Earlier this year, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine urged His state’s gambling commission Prop betting banned after MLB placement Cleveland Guards take two pitchers on leave During the sports betting investigation.
What are the other pitfalls and social implications?
Sports betting also faces criticism for opening the door to gambling addiction.
“The fact that it’s become standardized, the advertising is aggressive, the 24/7 availability, the micro-staking — all of that adds up to a massive increase in individual usage,” Taylor said, citing algorithms and other incentives used by betting platforms to drive engagement.
Ross-Berman noted that platforms have capitalized on the return of the “biggest losers.” latest Research suggests that young people in low-income communities are particularly vulnerable to the financial consequences associated with sports gambling.
“More than 90 percent of sports bettors will actually not experience a significant negative impact, but the impact is actually concentrated on the big losers, and it will be devastating for them,” he said.
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Associated Press reporters Tim Reynolds in Miami, David Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, and Alan Suderman in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.