In Oct. 2025, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers Chauncey Billups and Miami heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested for being a part of a wide-ranging FBI investigation of illegal sports betting.
Billups was arrested after being involved in a wide-ranging scheme involving ties to the mafia. He is alleged to have rigged underground poker games, and former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant Damon Jones was also implicated in the investigation. A total of 34 people were arrested in the investigation which spanned 11 states.
Rozier was arrested in his hotel room after advising gamblers about his injury, suggesting they bet his under, meaning he would score under a certain amount of points. Rozier left his March 2023 game after only playing for nine minutes, leaving each bettor unbeaten.
Both Billups and Rozier are on immediate unpaid leave from their respective teams, and both defendants plead not guilty.
This investigation began following a boom in illegal gambling-related penalties, such as the suspensions of MLB Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis L. Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase in July 2025. Both were put on paid leave after being charged with gambling-related offences due to tipping pitches.
Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce called the accusations a “more serious” betting incident.
Clase and Ortiz were both accused of rigging their individual pitches by purposely throwing balls on the first pitches of some at-bats over multiple games, so that gambling associates as well as friends and family could make money.
The MLB, while waiting for the investigation to finish, is expecting to punish the two pitchers in attempts to keep “the integrity of the game paramount,” the Commissioner of MLB Rob Manfred said.
As a result, The MLB placed a 200 dollar betting limit on all bets involving individual pitches and prohibited such wagers from being on betting apps, meaning they had to be placed at an in-person sportsbook.
Additionally, the NBA is no stranger to gambling controversies either, with many taking place in recent years.
“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the NBA said in its statement.
Jontay Porter, brother of Brooklyn Nets star Michael Porter Jr., was in large gambling debts to Brooklyn gambler Ammar Awawdeh, and while playing for the Toronto Raptors, also feigned injuries so he and his co-conspirators would make major money on his unders.
Porter was soon permanently banned and charged criminally, becoming the one of only two NBA players to ever be banned for gambling, following Jack Molinas’ lifelong ban for point shaving in 1954.
NBA official Tim Donaghy also had to resign from his position after he was found guilty of betting on point lines throughout multiple games he officiated from the 2003-2004 season to the 2006-2007 season. Donaghy also admitted that he had made calls during these games which helped his bets win.
Many players believe that the league’s close ties to gambling companies like DraftKings and FanDuel through sponsorship deals are “bad for the league,” and can cause immense harm to players and staff.
The NBA’s integrity and credibility has been significantly decreased due to the abundant examples of gambling incidents, which indicate a direct threat to the safety and interest of fans, players and anyone involved with the league.
The MLB has also has been involved in many pervious scandals, the most notable of which being the 1919 Black Sox scandal, in which eight Chicago White Sox were banned for life in 1921 due to rigging the 1919 World Series to benefit major gamblers.
Pete Rose, the all-time hits leader and a member of the Reds’ Hall of Fame, was banned for life in 1989 due to bets placed while he was player-manager of the Reds.
Both the Black Sox and Rose were posthumously reinstated from their bans by Commissioner Manfred in March 2025, making all players involved eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Most recently, Tucupita Marcano was banned in July 2024 for betting on multiple MLB games, including those of his own team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, it was revealed by the MLB that Maracano only won 4.3% of the 231 bets he placed on MLB-related events.
The MLB gambling scandals have decreased the league’s credibility and increased player harassment, creating a toxic environment in the sport and within organizations.
Even the NFL has banned multiple players over the years for gambling, including year-long suspensions for notable players such as Isiah Rodgers, Quintez Cephus, Jameson Williams and Calvin Ridley.
College sports are victim to major gambling incidents as well, with Ohio governor Mike DeWine deciding to ban all collegiate player prop bets to aid the safety of student athletes and prevent future incidents.
In the NCAA, investigations taking place from 2024-2025 revealed 14 Division I basketball players became ineligible due to betting violations.
Not only American sports have been affected by gambling. English Premier League players Andros Townsend, Harry Toffolo, Ivan Toney, Sandro Tonali and known rulebreaker Joey Barton have received major bans ranging from 3-18 months for gambling on sports events, and Lucas Paqueta was questionably cleared of charges that could have resulted in a lifelong ban.
The Italian football league, Serie A, has also been the center of major controversy. In the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, it was revealed that referees had given preferential treatment to Juventus FC, which may have benefitted the Italian Mafia’s bets. Juventus was stripped of the 2004-2005 title and sent down to Serie B, the second division of Italian soccer, and five others clubs, including ACF Fiorentina and S.S Lazio, received point deductions.
Skilled Italian football player Nicolo Fagioli was also banned for seven months after being convicted of heavy gambling; 13 additional players, including U.S. international Weston McKennie, are under investigation for gambling, although they are permitted to play as the investigation continues.
Professional sports leagues face recurring gambling incidents frequently, oftentimes due to the vast amounts of money involved in betting, which incentivizes players, coaches and officials to manipulate outcomes. This can fundamentally compromise the integrity of the athletic competition and erode public trust.
Gambling has completely blemished the world of sports, and as more states and countries continue to make sports gambling legal, it can be assumed the number of arrests will continue to grow, of players and gamblers alike.