Given the explosion in sports-related gambling–– 40 million active bettors, $170 billion total wagered, 95% of all wagers placed online — I’d hate to be responsible for dealing with a big time betting scandal in a major sport.
Sticking with the NBA as our example, here are a few of the ways a league can respond when a new scandal hits the headlines:
Administrative Leave and Suspensions: This is a basic corporate move to ensure that whatever the offending behavior, it’s at least no longer happening on the company’s watch. Suspension includes paycheck as well as player. The money, however, is deducted on a per-game basis, rather than all at once, somewhat reducing the impact of the financial loss.
Restrictions on betting activities: Where a sports betting operation is also involved, the league may decide to temporarily restrict certain types of high-stakes bets, especially those risky but popular “prop” bets that gamblers place on “a specific occurrence or individual statistic within a game“ — such as how many shots Player X will take in the third quarter, or the number of rebounds Player Y will gather during the second half. These “over/under“ bets are independent of who wins or loses, and can be easy to manipulate, especially with the cooperation of a player. Much of the money made (and lost) from sports gambling comes from this type of betting.
Internal Investigations: This is a way for the team to demonstrate commitment to finding the truth and protecting the game. In serious scandals, however, leagues tend to rely on federal law-enforcement investigations, with their greater resources and investigative powers, to do the hard work.
It’s a limited arsenal at best. Especially since the gambling industry continues to expand, much of the growth coming among the young, helping to create a whole new generation of problem gamblers.
