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Sports gambling creates a windfall, but raises questions of integrity, says CU Boulder researcher Jared Bahir Browsh

Sports betting is having a big moment across the United States. While gambling on sports has been legal for decades in countries such as the U.K., it wasn鈥檛 until 2018 that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that听. Before then, sports betting had been permitted only in Nevada.

After the Supreme Court decision, the floodgates opened. Many states were happy to legalize sports gambling, enticed by the opportunity for more听. As of May 2024, sports gambling is听听and Washington, D.C. Americans wagered听听on sports in 2023 alone.

鲍苍迟颈濒听, sports leagues in North America were apprehensive about鈥攊f not totally against鈥�. The long history of听听led many to worry that legalizing sports betting would tarnish their sports鈥� credibility and image. The NCAA was one of many governing bodies that听.

But now that the Supreme Court has blessed it, sports leagues have embraced gambling, forming partnerships with brands like听. The sportsbooks and platforms have integrity monitors to track听. Still, a number of scandals involving athletes and the people around them have emerged听.

As a听professor of critical sports studies, I teach students about the history of sports betting scandals. And I think they offer lessons for the present day.

Disgruntled players and pay disputes lead to temptation

The Black Sox Scandal of 1919 helped to further organize baseball, leading to the creation of the position of commissioner of baseball, which was first assumed by former judge听听Kennesaw Mountain Landis. Along with maintaining the color line, arguably his most notable action was banning, for life, the players on the听.

Early professional baseball regulations听, but the money was too tempting for many players to ignore鈥攁nd that included members of the听. The players hated the team鈥檚 owner, Charles Comiskey, and felt that they were underpaid. But they were unable to change teams due to the听听in their contracts, which gave owners exclusive rights to their players in perpetuity.

A faction of the team agreed to听. Those players were ultimately indicted by a grand jury and听. They were acquitted of criminal charges, but Landis suspended all of the players connected to the fix鈥攊ncluding superstar 鈥淪hoeless鈥� Joe Jackson, who admitted taking money from a teammate but maintained he was innocent of game fixing.

This was the the most notable of several attempts to fix baseball games early in the 20th century, as the game grew in popularity and a number of people associated with baseball, including players, managers and even umpires,听.

Addiction isn鈥檛 limited to substances

Athlete salaries have听. However, this money hasn鈥檛 shielded players and others involved in sports from the grips of gambling addiction.

There are no rules banning athletes from听听辞谤听. Numerous players have wagered millions of dollars, with some athletes building up听.

These debts can lead to such desperation that athletes decide to risk their careers. Baseball legend and听听Pete Rose continues to sit outside the听.

The most substantial gambling scandal in modern sports came in the NBA during the 2000s, involving referee Tim Donaghy. He admitted to providing information on NBA games, including those he officiated,听. Donaghy served time in prison as a result. So it isn鈥檛 just players who get in trouble.

Unpaid student-athletes are especially vulnerable to improprieties鈥揳nd harassment

There have been听听in college basketball history, most famously at the听听and at听鈥攖he latter of which involved听, the subject of the blockbuster film 鈥淕oodfellas.鈥�

The increasing use of prop, or proposition, bets, which听听rather than the overall result, has created a new point of vulnerability for student-athletes. While influencing an entire team is hard, history shows that individual players are more susceptible to pressure. A point guard or quarterback can slow down the game and reduce the margin of victory.

And while today鈥檚 unpaid student-athletes have the same financial incentives to cheat as earlier generations did, they face a new pressure: They鈥檙e often surrounded by gamblers on campus and on social media.听听not only at large universities but at smaller schools, too. According to NCAA surveys, 1 in 3 student-athletes have faced harassment from gamblers,听.

New regulations and oversight measures could help

The sportsbooks have very little incentive to address potential violations, so it鈥檚 up to organizations that oversee sports to ensure the integrity of their games.

NCAA President Charlie Baker鈥檚 suggestion to听听is a good first step: The more individual players and gameplay are isolated, the easier it is for improprieties to occur.

Providing more guidance for players鈥攁nd different types of punishments for different transgressions鈥�. Gambling violations that don鈥檛 affect competition outcomes should be treated differently from ones that do. The NCAA already does this by meting out lighter penalties for听听as opposed to their own.

Providing treatment for players and others suffering from gambling addiction would be helpful as well, and there鈥檚 some evidence that open discussions of听听have had a positive impact.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has suggested implementing federal oversight to听听of state-by-state regulations. Although scandals are still likely to occur, gambling commissions like the one in the U.K. can provide a听.

The suddenness of states adopting sports betting has led to a windfall of profit for gambling companies and tax revenue for the states. But it may also endanger the integrity of sports. As policymakers mull how to address the issue, they might be wise to learn from history.

Top image:听CCNY basketball players听arrested for bribery in 1951. (Photo:听Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)

Jared Bahir Browsh is an assistant teaching professor of critical sports studies听in the CU Boulder Department of Ethnic Studies.

This article is republished from听听under a Creative Commons license. Read the听.

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