Are sports betting scandals proving cynics right? - ESPN

Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for legalized sports betting in 2018, doomsayers have warned that the proliferation of wagering options — both legal and illegal — would bring an inevitable wave of scandal to sports. For the past year, at least, they appear to have been correct.

Since the beginning of March alone, betting-related controversies have swept through sports. A former Jacksonville Jaguars employee was sentenced to 6½ years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing $22 million from the team and wagering with it on FanDuel and DraftKings.

Then, the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Shohei Ohtani's interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in the wake of media inquiries about $4.5 million in wire transfers sent from Ohtani's bank account to a Southern California bookmaking operation under federal investigation. Ohtani has accused Mizuhara of stealing from him, and there's no evidence his former interpreter bet on baseball. Mizuhara said that he previously had placed bets via DraftKings and assumed bets placed through the bookmaker were legal.

And Monday, ESPN reported that Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter is under investigation by the NBA following multiple instances of prop betting irregularities over the past several months.

«This is a nightmare for the leagues,» said John Holden, a professor at Oklahoma State University whose research focuses on sports law, management and betting. «Not only is everyone asking questions because of the spotlight of the Ohtani story, but now you have very suspicious playing time, injuries tied to these flagged betting interests [surrounding Porter].… [It] raises questions about, 'OK, what else is going on?'»

The betting industry has exploded since 2018. According to the