After a landmark SCOTUS decision let states legalize sports-betting in 2018, the sector has become flush with cash, as countless leagues and team owners have struck deals.
FanDuel inked a pact with Major League Baseball (MLB) to become its official betting partner last year, for instance. In 2021, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) partnered with DraftKing in a deal ESPN reports was worth $350 million.
Sports-betting is legal in 39 states, Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, according to ESPN, which notes bettors have wagered $330 billion since it became legal.
And as it’s become more popular, a series of scandals starring athletes has inevitably followed.
On Tuesday, MLB announced that San Diego Padres player Tucupita Marcano had been hit with a lifetime ban for gambling on 25 games involving his own team.
And in the UK, Premiere League soccer star Lucas Paqueta is accused of purposefully getting yellow card punishments to help his friends win bets. He’s now facing a lifetime ban too.
In a separate MLB saga, the former interpreter for Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani was charged in April with stealing $16 million from the pitcher to pay off his own gambling debts.
For years now, leagues and broadcasters have embraced sports gambling. Is it any surprise that players are getting caught up in it too now?
Not that the leagues are too worried, Business Insider’s Peter Kafka previously wrote. He pointed out that leagues will be happy to throw those players under the bus.
Making examples out of bad actors will actually help bettors by lending legitimacy to the lucrative industry so it can continue to grow, he wrote.