More than 30 people now have been indicted after a lengthy federal investigation into illegal sports betting operations. "This is the insider trading scandal for the NBA," FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday at a press conference. The case will shake up professional sports in the US after teams rushed to cash in on business opportunities from rapidly growing sports betting, the New York Times reports. Federal officials said NBA players and coaches acted as sources of inside information for gamblers placing prop bets and other wagers on NBA games, per the Athletic. Some of the suspects indicted are members of organized crime, officials said.
Patel said the crimes involved "tens of millions of dollars in fraud and theft and robbery," per the Washington Post. Prosecutors described two overlapping cases—one focused on sports betting, the other on allegedly rigged poker games. The indictments suggest that the accused exploited non-public injury and lineup information, particularly details about players sitting out for teams aiming to improve their draft prospects. NBA players and coaches were key to both rings, say the indictments, per the Athletic, which has read them. Those indicted include Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former player and assistant coach Damon Jones.
It was nearly seven years ago when a US Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for legalized sports betting across the country, and the Athletic reports that the NBA by this time is in deep—after partnering with FanDuel and DraftKings in 2021. Fears of crime and scandal have long been simmering, the Post points out. Bill Bradley, the former basketball star who was behind the 1992 law that had effectively prohibited sports betting as a senator, warned about the explosion of betting last year, per the Times. "I just don't think it will be controlled," he said. "I think it will pervade the culture. I think there will be a scandal."
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