The 1919 Chicago Black Sox, the 1949-1951 College Basketball point-shaving scandal, Pete Rose, and Operation Slapshot are just a few examples of the plethora of instances where professional athletics’ integrity has been compromised by the ever-expanding sports gambling industry.[1] Today, following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to end the 26-year prohibition on sports gambling, sports betting has been widely legalized nationwide through state statutes and the exploitation of legal loopholes, such as prediction markets and daily fantasy sports-style “games of skill.” [2][3][4] As a result, virtually all of-age consumers of professional athletics can bet on whether players will perform “over” or “under” certain statistical thresholds in a given game, regardless of whether their state has formally legalized sports betting.[5] This practice, colloquially known as “proposition” betting (“prop betting”), in addition to sports betting as a whole, is currently under intense scrutiny for offering professional athletes an attractive way to defraud the sports betting industry without having to fix or throw entire games, as was required in the past.[6] Indeed, modern sports-betting practices have fueled allegations of individuals directly involved with the NBA trading insider information to gain advantages in betting outcomes.[7]
On October 23, 2025, the FBI released two separate indictments naming current and former NBA players, as well as their third-party associates. Described as a “sweeping” and “historic” mafia-linked crackdown, the defendants were charged with fraud, money laundering, extortion, and operation of an illegal gambling business concerning their individual and professional gambling practices.[8] Among the thirty-plus defendants, Terry Rozier (point guard for the Miami Heat), Chauncey Billups (coach for the Portland Trailblazers), and Damon Jones (former NBA player and coach), are the most notable current and former NBA personnel directly implicated.[9]
The indictment naming Rozier alleges that he and other NBA personnel traded insider information with their associates about player performance or availability to gain an advantage in betting outcomes.[10] While Rozier’s indictment likely referred to Billups as an unnamed co-conspirator, the second indictment naming Billups centers around rigging high-stakes poker games in connection with the Costra Nostra mafia.[11][12] Jones and two other defendants were named in both indictments.[13]
The indictment naming Rozier and Jones includes four other defendants who allegedly participated in distributing and profiting from confidential player information.[14][15] The indictment details five instances in which Jones, Rozier, or other co-conspirators shared insider information with the other named defendants. Rozier’s involvement was only alleged in one instance in which he allegedly informed his associate, defendant DeNiroLaster, that he planned to leave a game early, prompting multiple successful prop bets on Rozier’s “unders.”[16]
Beyond the Rozier allegations, the other alleged conduct in the Rozier indictment did not name additional individuals currently involved in the NBA’s internal operations.[17] Instead, the indictment referred to several unnamed conspirators currently involved in the NBA’s internal operations who assisted in circulating pre-release information about player health and availability.[18] For example, Jones allegedly received a tip from an unnamed co-conspirator that LeBron James would not play against Milwaukee, encouraging bets on the Bucks before the information became public.[19]
Although the FBI alludes to players within the NBA altering their in-game performance to defraud the sports-betting industry, each allegation stems from a player’s purported availability due to injury or team strategy.[20] For that reason, regulating the behavior of current NBA personnel may prove difficult, as much of the communication could plausibly reflect private conversations about professional matters among friends or associates, rather than an attempt to defraud the sports-betting industry. While this would not exculpate the defendants who actually used the insider information to defraud the sports-betting industry, it could save someone like Rozier from guilt due to his lack of specific intent.[21] In fact, the NBA launched an internal investigation against Rozier in the spring of 2023 for the same allegations, only to ultimately find him innocent until additional evidence legitimately implicating Rozier became known.[22] Likewise, Jones has not been directly involved in the internal operations of the NBA since the 2022-2023 season, making it reasonable to infer that his access to insider information results from the connections he established with NBA personnel while playing and coaching, not from the unnamed co-conspirator’s alleged attempt to profit by defrauding the sports gambling industry.[23]
The Billups indictment, by contrast, lies outside the NBA’s internal operations and focuses on the manipulation of high-stakes poker games.[24] According to federal prosecutors, Billups and the Costra Nostra used concealed card-rigging machines and hidden cameras to cheat victims out of millions of dollars by luring them with the promise of playing alongside celebrity athletes like Billups.[25]
Despite labeling the investigations a historic blow to organized crime, the FBI has so far declined to bring racketeering (“RICO”) charges.[26] Historically, the federal government has pursued racketeering in large-scale mafia prosecutions, such as the 1980s Mafia Commission Trial and John Gotti’s 1992 life sentence for racketeering and murder.[27] Here, however, prosecutors likely avoided racketeering due to the heightened burden of proof and risk of juror confusion.[28] To secure a racketeering conviction, the government must demonstrate that the defendants engaged in at least two connected criminal acts over a ten-year span.[29] As legal scholars observed during Sean “Diddy” Combs’s recent trial, prosecutors failed to prove Comb’s guilt concerning the complex RICO charges because of the lack of direct testimony and likely juror confusion.[30][31] Thus, because wire fraud and money-laundering are simpler charges that carry comparable sentencing exposure to RICO, twenty-year maximums for each, federal prosecutors strategically opted for the less burdensome path.[32]
Despite the optics of having a head coach arrested and indicted at the start of the season,ehjh the NBA will likely show limited concern over the Billups allegations. The claims involving Rozier, however, pose a serious threat to the league’s integrity. Even if the alleged actions did not significantly alter game outcomes, they jeopardize the legitimacy of the NBA’s sports-betting partnerships and player injury status. As the league continues to market sports-betting as a central feature of fan engagement, it bears a responsibility to ensure that all consumers operate with access to information. Consequently, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce has requested a briefing from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver regarding the indictments and the NBA’s plan to prevent similar misconduct.[33] For the meantime, Silver has publicly suggested collaborating with major betting platforms to control which players appear in prop-bet markets. Specifically, Silver recommends removing all wagers involving two-way players who move between the NBA’s major and minor leagues.[34]
While the NBA is currently the most notable professional sports league to recently deal with illegal gambling practices, this issue permeates professional sports.[35] Last month, the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) banned three players for illegal gambling practices and announced investigations into thirteen others.[36] Although technological advancements have offered a means of identifying when illegal sports bets have been placed, the increasing prevalence of athletes engaging in sports-betting and its normalization may create momentum for uniform in-state gambling laws throughout the United States. However, the simplest and potentially most effective solution may be to remove all “unders” for prop bets to prevent players from being able to willfully shave or fall short of their statistical forecasts to game the system.
[1] Dave Roos, The Biggest Sports Betting Scandals in History, HISTORY (Oct. 27, 2025), https://www.history.com/articles/biggest-sports-betting-scandals (1919 Chicago Black Sox: eight Chicago White Sox players allegedly conspired with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series, resulting in lifetime bans despite acquittals); (1950s College Basketball Point-Shaving Scheme: a widespread point-shaving conspiracy involving at least twenty college players and fourteen gamblers across roughly eighty-six games from the late 1940s to early 1950s); (Pete Rose: Cincinnati Reds player-manager Pete Rose bet on games involving his own team, resulting in his permanent ban from Major League Baseball); (Operation Slap Shot: New Jersey authorities uncovered an underground sports-betting ring tied to former NHL player and coach Rick Tocchet, which processed more than $1.7 million in wagers in forty days).
[2] Murphy v. NCAA, 584 U.S. 453, 486 (2018)
[3] Karen M. Lent, Anthony J. Dreyer & Robert A. Fumerton, Sports Prediction Markets Emerge as a New Legal Battleground, Reuters (Nov. 6, 2025) https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/sports-prediction-markets-emerge-new-legal-battleground–pracin-2025-11-06/.
[4] Cal. Att’y Gen., Op. No. 23-1001 at 2-6 (July 3, 2025).
[5] Id.
[6] David Steele, NBA Betting Scandal A Wake-Up Call For Leagues, Industry, Law360 (Oct. 24, 2025)
[7] Pete Brush, NBA Coach Billups, Guard Rozier Arrested in Gambling Bust, Law360 (Oct. 23, 2025, at 9:36 ET), https://www.law360.com/sports-and-betting/articles/2402930/nba-coach-billups-guard-rozier-arrested-in-gambling-bust.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] U.S. Att’y’s Office for the E.D.N.Y., Current and Former National Basketball Association Players and Four Other Individuals Charged in Widespread Sports Betting and Money Laundering Conspiracy, U.S. Dep’t of Justice (Oct. 23, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/current-and-former-national-basketball-association-players-and-four-other-individuals.
[11] Id.
[12]U.S. Att’y’s Office for the E.D.N.Y., 31 Defendants, Including Members and Associates of Organized Crime Families and National Basketball Association Coach Chauncey Billups, Charged in Schemes to Rig Illegal Poker Games, U.S. Dep’t of Justice (Oct. 23, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/31-defendants-including-members-and-associates-organized-crime-families-and-national.
[13] U.S. Att’y’s Office for the E.D.N.Y., supra note10.
[14] U.S. Att’y’s Office for the E.D.N.Y., supra note10 (Defendants include: Eric Earnest (“Spook”), Marves Fairley (“Vez,” “Vezino,” “Vezino Locks”), Shane Hennen (“Sugar”), Damon Jones (“D Jones,” “Dee Jones”), Deniro Laster (“Niro,” “Payso,” “Peso”), and Terry Rozier (“Scary Terry,” “Chum”).
[15] Brush, supra note7.
[16] Indictment, United States v. Eric Earnest, No. 25-CR-323, (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 16, 2025), https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/media/1416611/dl
[17] Id.
[18] Brush, supra note7; U.S. Att’y’s Office for the E.D.N.Y., supra note10.
[19] U.S. Att’y’s Office for the E.D.N.Y., supra note10.
[20] Id.
[21] United States v. Kuhrt, 788 F.3d 403, 414 (5th Cir. 2015).
[22] Mike Vurkonov, Why the NBA’s Investigation of Terry Roziers rasises questions about the future gambling probes, The Athletic (Oct. 31, 2025, at 14:45 UT), https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6765257/2025/10/31/nba-gambling-investigation-betting-future-rozier/.
[23] Dan Wolke & Joe Vardon, Who is Damon Jones, the former NBA player charged with sharing LeBron injury secrets?, The Athletic (Oct. 24, 2025, at 22:56 UT), https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6747914/2025/10/24/damon-jones-former-nba-player-feds-info-lakers/.
[24] U.S. Att’y’s Office for the E.D.N.Y., supra note 12.
[25] Id.
[26] Phillip Bantz, Feds Ditch Usual Mob Case Playbook in NBA Betting Scandal, Law360 (Oct. 31, 2025, at 17:21 ET), https://www.law360.com/articles/2405469?scroll=1&related=1.
[27] Id.
[28] Id.
[29] Id.; 18 U.S.C.S. §§ 1961 et. seq. (LexisNexis 2025).
[30] Bantz, supra note 25.
[31] Holly Yan & Rebekah Riess, How the prosecution failed to prove its most serious charges against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, CNN (July 3, 2025, at 13:50 ET), https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/03/us/sean-diddy-combs-trial-prosecution#:~:text=In%20Combs’%20case%2C%20prosecutors%20claimed,bail%20as%20he%20awaits%20sentencing.
[32] Bantz, supra note 25; 18 U.S.C.S. §§ 1343 et seq. (LexisNexis 2025); 18 U.S.C.S. § 1956 (LexisNexis 2025).
[33] Craig Clough, House Committee Wants NBA Comm’r Briefing on Gambling, Law360 (Oct. 27, 2025, at 19:59 ET), https://www.law360.com/articles/2404104?scroll=1&related=1.
[34] Id.
[35] Steele, supra note 6.
[36] Id.