Is the Game Rigged? Why Sports Betting is Becoming a Legal Time Bomb

The International Olympic Committee defines “competition manipulation” as “when the result of a tournament or competition is partially or completely decided in advance and the match is played to ensure the pre-determined outcome.”[1] Considering the Olympics hosts 43 sports,[2] this definition can probably be applied to many, if not all, sports around the globe. While it is against the rules of sportsmanship as well as against the law, athletes “who bet on their sport might be tempted to fully or partially manipulate their competition in order to receive financial gain.”[3] The sports world has experienced many scandals of manipulated competition — involving athletes, coaches and more — that have hurt the integrity of sports while breaking the law.

The sports world was once again placed into a state of shock by the arrest of Miami Heat player, Terry Rozier, and Portland Trail Blazers head coach, Chauncey Billups, in connection to alleged gambling schemes.[4] Billups’ arrest stems from his alleged involvement in rigged poker games and Rozier “was arrested because federal officials allege he conspired with associates to help them win bets based on his statistical performance in a 2023 game.”[5] More specifically, Rozier was charged with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy.[6] Rozier’s alleged actions lead to sports lovers questioning the integrity of the players, coaches, and the game itself. In response to this latest shock, the NBA initiated a comprehensive review of sports betting regulations to determine how it can protect what people love most — integrity.[7]

Integrity in sports was never really questioned until 1919. That year, the Black Sox Scandal occurred when MLB’s Chicago White Sox competed against the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.[8] The Reds’ World Series victory was ultimately overshadowed considering several players of the White Sox conspired with gamblers to rig the outcome.[9] Due to the scandal’s publicity at the time, it “enhanced the negative public perception of sports gambling.”[10]

Whereas players influenced the outcomes of games in the Black Sox Scandal, referees are equally capable of doing the same. Tim Donaghy, one of the NBA’s most respected referees during his time, pleaded guilty in 2007 to two felony charges which involved “conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a scheme to defraud the NBA and conspiracy to transmit wagering information across state lines.”[11] In exchange for taking cash from gamblers, Donaghy influenced the outcomes of games based on his officiating. Regarding the current NBA scandal, Donaghy believes that it is “going to be very damaging to the league.”[12]

At the time Donaghy was caught, sports betting was illegal. However, this changed in 2018, after the landmark decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[13] The holding set the table for sports betting to boom in the United States. Though federal criminal law continues to prohibit insider-betting schemes,[14] the effects of the legalization of sports betting continue to grow, and more money gets flowed around every sports game. Consequently, “the risk of inside influence has never been higher.”[15] As such, these schemes don’t seem to be going away any time soon thanks to the unfortunate, speedy growth of betting in the United States.[16]

With the NBA’s integrity already under scrutiny thanks to people like Donaghy and Rozier, Jontay Porter can be added to the list of people who influenced NBA games and profited off doing so. Prior to one of the games Porter was set to play in, he informed an “NBA bettor” of confidential information regarding his health.[17] The bettor placed a bet for Porter to not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book, and low and behold, after less than three minutes of playing, Porter took himself out of the game.[18] The NBA constitution contains the anti-gambling rules that would apply to Porter and states that players are not allowed to gamble in any way on an NBA game.[19] Additionally, the NBA commissioner gets to determine the penalty for such a violation.[20] Accordingly, Porter was banned for life from the NBA.[21]

NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, banned Porter because he believes “there is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport.”[22] Trust between sports associations and fans is threatened because of “the rise of legal sports gambling [–] and the possibility of outside gambling forces unduly influencing a player, coach, or referee to change the outcome of a game for purposes of making money.”[23] The problem here is clear: legalized sports betting gives players and coaches easy access to violate the law and manipulate games. This produces lowered levels of integrity, which leads to less trust from the fans and eventually, to the demise of sports.

All major sports leagues in the U.S. are being infected with gambling scandals. In the NHL, Senators’ forward, Shane Pinto, was hit with a 41-game suspension after he violated NHL’s gambling rules.[24] In the NFL, star wide receiver, Calvin Ridley, was suspended for a year after he gambled on games.[25] While these two players faced punishment for gambling, it did not include games in which they played in and could thus change the outcome. However, that is not the case with two MLB players, Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase, who were both flagged for suspicious betting on their in-game pitches.[26] IC360, an integrity firm which monitors the betting market, was the first to point out the suspicious pitches. Firms like this one warn players that there are always ways to be caught if you’re not following the rules.[27]

 The adverse widespread legalization of sports betting has now led to a new development – student-athletes and athletic department staff members are (pending approval) now allowed to bet on professional sports.[28] While the same people are still prohibited from betting on college sports (for now), this is a step in the wrong direction. Before turning pro, many student-athletes are acquainted with professional athletes, mainly due to their familiarity with one another playing college sports together.[29] By personally knowing professional athletes, what’s to stop college players from reaching out to a friend of theirs and discuss “fixing” a game? After all, a major concern for integrity “is the access to information bettors may have, primarily on college campuses.”[30]

The American Gaming Association (AGA) plays an important role in regulating the betting industry. According to the AGA, fans will continue to bet on sports if they think the games are fair.[31] To help the fans, federal oversight requires sportsbooks to comply with “stringent anti-money laundering law.”[32] However, even with the law overseeing bettors (athletes or nonathletes), the rapid spread of sports betting is creating an environment for constantly changing laws, and it doesn’t look like it’s for the better. As evidenced above, the law can’t and won’t stop players and coaches from seeking to rig games, and in doing so, sports lovers are forced to ask themselves the dreaded question: is the game rigged?[33]

Lawrence Kirzhner is a Second Year Law Student at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and a Staff Editor at the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal. Lawrence is interested in sports, entertainment, and antitrust law. Lawrence is also an avid New York sports fan, especially of the New York Rangers and New York Jets. 

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[1] Prevention of Competition Manipulation, Int’l Olympic Comm., https://www.olympics.com/ioc/integrity/prevention-competition-manipulation [https://perma.cc/36YZ-SQEQ].

[2] Olympics, https://www.olympics.com/en/sports/ (explaining there are 35 sports in the LA2028 Summer Olympics and 8 sports in the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics).

[3] Id.

[4] Scott Stump, What Could Happen in the NBA Gambling Scandal? Legal Expert Weighs In, Today (Oct. 26, 2025 6:00 PM), https://www.today.com/news/sports/nba-gambling-scandal-legal-analysis-rcna239577 [https://perma.cc/8HPQ-VUSB].

[5] Id.; see also Associated Press, NBA memo reveals league concerned about its integrity amid gambling allegations, The Guardian (Oct. 27, 2025 2:02 PM), https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/27/nba-memo-reveals-league-concerned-about-its-integrity-amid-gambling-allegations [https://perma.cc/RS2J-FSWK].

[6] See Press Release, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, Current and Former National Basketball Association Players and Four Other Individuals Charged in Widespread Sports Betting and Money Laundering Conspiracy (Oct. 23, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/current-and-former-national-basketball-association-players-and-four-other-individuals [https://perma.cc/NRZ4-AJ6C].; see also 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (defining wire fraud conspiracy and the laundering of monetary instruments).

[7] Kelvin Ndunga, NBA to review sports betting rules after federal gambling scandal, Daily Sabah (Oct. 28, 2025), https://www.dailysabah.com/sports/basketball/nba-to-review-sports-betting-rules-after-federal-gambling-scandal [https://perma.cc/8FLJ-LP76].

[8] Bill Lamb, The Black Sox Scandal, Soc’y for Am. Baseball Rsch. https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-black-sox-scandal/ [https://perma.cc/F24W-RGXH].

[9] Id.  

[10] Matthew Dziok, Sports Law–Sports Gambling in a Post-Murphy World: Ensuring Emerging Sports Gambling Laws Adequately Protect the Integrity of College Sports, 44 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 149, 157 (2022).

[11] Caryn E. Neumann, NBA Referee Tim Donaghy Is Sentenced to Prison for Betting on Games, EBSCO (2022), https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/nba-referee-tim-donaghy-sentenced-prison-betting-games [https://perma.cc/JN4K-34JA].

[12] Vishwesha Kumar, Tim Donaghy Drops Bombshell On NBA Betting Scandal, Fadeaway World (Oct. 26, 2025), https://fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/tim-donaghy-drops-bombshell-on-nba-betting-scandal [https://perma.cc/E263-VN8L].

[13] Murphy v. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 584 U.S. 453 (2018) (holding PASPA – a federal law that banned sports betting – to be unconstitutional. After this decision, it was up to the states to decide whether or not sports betting should be permitted.).

[14] U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York, supra note 5 (stating that such schemes “erode the integrity of American sports.”).

[15] Kumar, supra note 10.

[16] Devon Henderson, What is Kalshi, the prediction market that’s attracted the NCAA’s attention?, The Athletic (Nov. 4, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6778085/2025/11/04/what-is-kalshi-the-predictions-market-thats-attracted-the-ncaas-attention/ (explaining that while sportsbooks are regulated by state gaming commissions and are viewed as gambling services, Kalshi, which is a prediction market that acts like a sportsbook, is classified as a financial trading platform and is thus legal nationwide, prompting rapid growth from its users).

[17] NBA Communications, Jontay Porter banned from NBA for violating league’s gaming rules, NBA (Apr. 17, 2024), https://www.nba.com/news/jontay-porter-banned-from-nba [https://perma.cc/P9AV-MRDR].

[18] Tim Reynolds, NBA bans Jontay Porter after gambling probe shows he shared information, bet on games, PBS News (Apr. 17, 2024, 3:44 PM), https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/nba-bans-jontay-porter-after-gambling-probe-shows-he-shared-information-bet-on-games [https://perma.cc/ZSP9-SC9J].

[19] Matthew J. Parlow, Protecting the Integrity of Sports, 55 Seton Hall L. Rev. 533, 547 (2024).

[20] Id. (explaining that under the NBA’s Constitution, the commissioner’s decision is final and not subject to appeal).

[21] Reynolds, supra note 15.  

[22] NBA Communications, supra note 14.

[23] Parlow, supra note 16, at 545.

[24] Kayla Douglas, Pinto says gambling suspension was result of proxy betting, theScore, https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/2940359 [https://perma.cc/F7CV-KV5E].

[25] ESPN Staff, Suspensions, arrests and lifetime bans: A timeline of sports betting scandals since the repeal of PASPA (Oct. 23, 2025, 8:50 PM), https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/39908218/a-line-sports-gambling-scandals-2018 [https://perma.cc/LFS2-B2JM].

[26] David Purdum, Guardians’ Clase, Ortiz remain on leave amid gambling inquiry, ESPN (Aug. 31, 2025, 12:07 PM), https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/46120812/guardians-clase-ortiz-remain-leave-amid-gambling-inquiry [https://perma.cc/QR8W-PY29].

[27] Id.

[28] Meghan Durham Wright, DI Administrative Committee adopts proposal to allow student-athletes, staff to bet on pro sports, NCAA (Oct. 8, 2025, 11:45 AM), https://www.ncaa.org/news/2025/10/8/media-center-di-administrative-committee-adopts-proposal-to-allow-student-athletes-staff-to-bet-on-pro-sports.aspx.

[29] Nick Viland, NCAA gives green light to college athletes betting on pro sports, ABC3340 (Oct. 23, 2025, 8:49 PM), https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/ncaa-allows-college-athletes-to-bet-on-pro-sports-sparking-debate (explaining that in the past, “NCAA leaders feared athletes could misuse insider information.”).

[30] Jarred M. Stindt, Never Tell Me the Odds: The Importance of Federal Legislation in Sports Gambling Regulation, 46 J. Corp. L. 850, 866 (2021).

[31] Regulated Sports Betting Protects Game Integrity, Am. Gaming Ass’n,  (2024), https://www.americangaming.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AGA-Integrity-Factsheet-FINAL.pdf [https://perma.cc/8BJG-ERL7].

[32] Id.

[33] Jeremy Engle, Is Legalized Gambling Ruining Sports?, New York Times (Oct. 29, 2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/learning/is-legalized-gambling-ruining-sports.html [https://perma.cc/NR7P-YF8W] (discussing the many problems that have resulted from legalized gambling and posing questions as to the effects from legalized gambling).