"Within 24 hours of approving a rule change that will allow student athletes and athletic department staff to bet only on professional sports, the FBI arrested more than 30 people in connection with a major sports gambling and betting scheme. The level of sophistication alleged in one 22-page indictment reads like an "Ocean's Eleven" script with four New York Mafia families, a current NBA player and a head coach all allegedly involved."
"A century ago, the Black Sox scandal nearly destroyed baseball in America. Fast forward a hundred years and we find out 16 professional tennis players - including a U.S. Open champion - were fixing matches for gambling syndicates in Russia and Italy. In between, Pete "Charlie Hustle" Rose received a lifetime ban for betting on baseball games as a manager and Tim Donaghy, an NBA referee, is busted for betting on games."
"So, if NCAA officials believe it is too cumbersome to enforce its current gambling ban (it is investigating multiple violations across several schools), imagine what life inside the organization would be like without some sort of deterrent. In fact, no imagination is required. Just read the indictment filed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York."
The NCAA approved a rule change allowing student athletes and athletic department staff to bet only on professional sports. The FBI arrested more than 30 people in a sophisticated gambling scheme allegedly involving four New York Mafia families, a current NBA player and a head coach. Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, more than 35 states legalized sports betting. Historical scandals include the Black Sox, match-fixing by professional tennis players, Pete Rose's lifetime ban, Tim Donaghy's betting as a referee, and Jontay Porter's lifetime ban. NCAA enforcement already faces multiple investigations, and removing the ban would heighten corruption risk and complicate deterrence.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]