Odds are that most Thanksgiving dinners will include a heaping helping of Packers-Lions. A side of Chiefs-Cowboys. A run back out to the fridge for a plate of stuffing alongside the nightcap game of Bengals-Ravens. A veritable football smorgasbord paired with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and a slab of pumpkin pie.
But the real side dish to go with the games may be your wagers. Drop the dark meat. Put your money where your mouth is.
More and more Americans are placing wagers on practically anything related to sports. You can take the over-under on individual games or see if the Lions cover the point spread. But many fans are now lured by very specific bets. You can wager money on how many passing attempts Lamar Jackson has or how many penalties the Lions will commit. Maybe bet how many times they’ll show Taylor Swift on the screen during the Chiefs contest. The American Gaming Association says sportsbooks scored a staggering $13.71 billion in revenue last year. Heightened gambling interest is what worries lawmakers.
Astonishing betting scandals recently rocked the NBA and Major League Baseball.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups pleaded not guilty earlier this week to charges of taking part in an illegal poker scheme with possible ties to organized crime.
Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat is due for arraignment on Dec. 8. Prosecutors accuse Rozier of yanking himself out of a game two years ago because of a foot injury. But bettors placed hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers on how many points Rozier might score, as well as rebounds and assists. The feds allege that Rozier benched himself to help a gambling ring that bet on the paucity of his performance that night.
And the feds busted Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase for allegedly conspiring with bettors to throw specific pitches at specific times during the games. It’s believed this resulted in bettors pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
So there’s the gaming of the games.
That’s why lawmakers question whether fans can trust what they see on the field or the court.
“People have to have faith in the product, and they have to have the belief that the players are playing, and the coaches are on the up and up and the refs are on the up and up,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
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“You may not be able to throw a strike 10% of the time. But even a lousy pitcher as I am could throw a ball 100% of the time,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “These cheating scandals threaten to undermine the integrity of sports.”
That’s why Cruz and the top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Maria Cantwell, of Washington state, wrote to Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred. They want answers on suspicious wagers and whether there are any other instances of alleged rigging. Cruz and Cantwell fired off a letter to the NBA as well.
“We need these organizations to make sure that there’s rules and regulations in place that are followed,” said Cantwell. “What you should do to make sure that people are complying.”
“If you’re watching a game and you think, ‘Is this the glorious uncertainty of sport, or is this some theater designed by gambling mobsters and their addicted athletes?’ then the joy of sport is dead, ladies and gentlemen,” said University of New Haven professor Declan Hill after a meeting with lawmakers.
The latest line is on the emerging phenomenon of prop bets. People don’t wager on overall outcomes of games or who might win the division or conference, but instead place their money on individual events during the game.
“We are a long way from the Black Sox scandal,” said John Affleck, Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at Penn State.
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That’s where eight members of the Chicago White Sox allegedly took money to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds – although the evidence of what the White Sox players may have done is mixed at best.
“We’re now in a place where the first corner kick or the number of points you score in the first half can be manipulated if you have a willing athlete,” said Affleck.
Sports leagues have all cozied up to commercial gambling operations over the past few years. Many established partnerships. Some lawmakers believe betting scandals were inevitable once the leagues and the gaming industry parlayed their fortunes together.
“These growing scandals simply highlight the need for national standards that stop the sports betting industry from exploiting vulnerable gamblers and the potential corruption among the players themselves,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “The sports betting industry has grown huge without any kind of safeguards against the use of algorithms and micro bets to target individuals, whether they are gamblers or players in sports.”
Congress hasn’t passed a gambling law since 2006.
Lawmakers say the leagues should tread carefully with gambling. Fans could lose interest if they think the sports are rigged.
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“All these scandals,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. “People are going to get tired of it and move on. I mean, my God, football, basketball, baseball should all be worried now that watching people play video games is a spectator sport.”
And we reside in a period when people routinely take to social media to claim that the leagues only want certain teams to succeed or that the refs or umpires are biased against their club.
“I think of the proclivity of conspiracy theories in our modern world. It just sort of fits that as soon as you get a bad call as a fan, you go ‘Fix!,’” said Affleck. “That’s what the leagues have to be worried about — a sense that everybody’s on the take.”
There are also worries about how gaming apps are designed to lure people.
“It’s impossible to ignore the similarities between sportsbooks today and the big tobacco efforts of decades earlier,” said Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y. “Instead of ads with doctors recommending cigarettes, it’s celebrities teaching viewers how to bet.”
Tonko said one in five Americans bet on sports at least once a month and 7 million people have a gambling problem. He added that one in five of those addicted to gambling will attempt suicide.
“In short, we are dealing with a massive and growing public health crisis involving a known addictive product,” said Tonko.
Affleck believes gaming apps have “a particular appeal to younger bettors, which raises some alarm bells about early addiction.”
So Congress is investigating, but it’s unclear if anything will come of the inquiry into the recent pro-betting scandals.
“I think there’s a risk of Congress overstepping,” said Eric Schmitt, arguing that regulation of gaming should be left to the states.
So will much come of the congressional probe? Will we see gaming legislation from lawmakers?
Considering the current dysfunction of Congress, don’t bet on it.
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