Polarizing propositions: Who's to blame for recent sports betting scandals?

Throughout the second half of 2025, betting scandals involving the manipulation of propositional wagers, or outcomes determined by an individual player, generated significant concern from both operators and professional sports leagues.

Following investigations conducted by the NBA and MLB, many were left wondering if the absence of effective responsible gambling education within such entities is to blame, or perhaps the vastness in which prop bets have grown since sports betting was legalized in 2018.

While it's quite simple for professional sports leagues and operators to point fingers at one another, the truth of the matter is sports betting has reached an integrity crossroads over the past 12 months. From faulty injury reporting to performance manipulation, the real concern for sports betting is discovering ways of reducing the opportunity for such deception to occur.

Where it all stems from

In February 2025, MLB unveiled it would be upholding its decision to fire umpire Pat Hoberg following an investigation which found Hoberg "shared" sports betting accounts with a longtime friend and professional poker player who bet on baseball. No direct evidence was found that led investigators to believe Hoberg bet on baseball himself or manipulated games he had been working, but the umpire did intentionally delete messages central to MLB's investigation.

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase were both placed on non-disciplinary paid leave in July after a betting-integrity firm flagged two of Ortiz's pitches which coincided with increased bets on a particular outcome. According to their eventual indictment, Clase began coordinating with sports bettors in 2023, allegedly manipulating the speed and placement of pitches in exchange for bribes.

Investigators believe the scheme enabled conspirators to win over $400,000 in fraudulent wagers, often through prop bets on the first pitch of an at-bat. Such offerings may include an over/under for the speed of a pitch and whether it will be thrown for a ball or strike.

The NBA would be hit with an even greater case of sports betting manipulation after former player Damon Jones, current Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Chauncey Billups were among those charged with a range of gambling-related offenses in a "massive nationwide takedown," as described by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

While Billups' arrest is related more to rigged poker games, Rozier was found to have allegedly departed an NBA game early due to injury after providing advance notice of the occurrence to betting conspirators. Jones allegedly shared information regarding the availability of players such as LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Damian Lillard between 2023 and 2024, who had been listed as "game-time decisions" or "questionable" on team injury reports.

Rozier and Jones, as well as four additional defendants involved with the alleged activity, are scheduled to appear in court on March 3, 2026, at which time prosecutors expect to produce over 1,000 documents of financial, communication and betting records as part of the discovery.

Industry response

FanDuel and DraftKings, both partners of the NBA and MLB, issued responses to the NBA investigation shortly after the news broke on October 23.

"Today's events are deeply disturbing, and should concern fans, athletes and everyone who loves sports and values integrity and fair play," FanDuel said.

"They also illustrate the stark contrast between legal and illegal betting markets. At FanDuel, we use advanced technology and real-time monitoring to identify suspicious activity and work closely with leagues, data monitoring groups and law enforcement. We are unwavering in our commitment to rooting out abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and the games we love."

DraftKings, which alerted the NBA of Porter's suspicious betting activity in 2024, issued the following statement after the FBI's arrests of Rozier and Jones: "We fundamentally believe that regulated online sports betting is the best way forward to monitor for and detect suspicious behavior while offering consumer protections backed by advanced technology, neither of which exist in the pervasive illegal market.

"While regulation cannot eliminate all concerns related to game integrity, it significantly reduces risks by enabling collaboration between operators, leagues, teams and relevant authorities to identify and hold accountable anyone engaged in illegal behavior."

NBA Player's Association VP Jaylen Brown, also a member of the Boston Celtics roster, stated "there's been little to no conversation" from the league regarding how to protect players from gambling risks. As a potential response to the scandal involving Rozier and Jones, the NBA established new requirements for injury reporting status and enhanced its gambling education program on December 19.

Teams will now submit injury reports on the day of each respective matchup between 11am and 1pm local time, as well as update the reports in 15-minute increments, rather than hourly as previously required. The new responsible gambling measures will look to protect players, coaches and staff from sports betting harassment and improve its ability to detect unusual betting activity.

The NBA, along with the MLB, began advocating for additional restrictions on prop bets, including limitations on "under" bets, the number of players offered by a sportsbook and eliminating bets that are determined by a single play.

FanDuel and DraftKings agreed to implement a nationwide $200 betting limit on wagers related to individual MLB pitches and prohibit such wagers from being incorporated within a parlay. Currently, no action has been taken regarding NBA prop bets, although the league only began advocating for further restrictions on the same day it established the new injury reporting policies.

The correct call

While some level of admiration should certainly be shown to FanDuel and DraftKings for taking the necessary steps to reduce manipulation opportunities, one has to be left questioning whether it falls upon the operators themselves to correct the mistakes of others. Neither FanDuel or DraftKings were found to be working with the entities involved with the NBA and MLB cases, and were even described as "victims" within the most recent gambling probe.

Prop bets, and fellow outcomes determined by a single player, have existed long before the issues surrounding Porter, Hoberg, Rozier and others were first brought to light. While the offering has certainly expanded in terms of size and availability, it's not as if sports betting operators do so with the enjoyment of league personnel in mind. Leagues such as the MLB and NBA are also required to implement satisfactory problem gambling programs for players and coaches, which is certainly in question after the responses seen from Brown and other players.

It's also completely acceptable to place most, if not all, of the blame on the defendants themselves, even if concerns regarding gambling addiction may also persist. These are individuals making thousands, even millions of dollars, to work in the sport they love. If that isn't enough motivation for them to prohibit themselves from participating in illegal betting activity, it's fair to take a deeper look into the individual rather than the league they play for or the platform they choose to bet on.

While the NBA and MLB have both showcased a willingness to expand its responsible gambling resources, the leagues also continue to advocate for additional prop bet restrictions. FanDuel and DraftKings obviously adjusted their prop bet offerings to restrict potential illegal activity, but doing so to a greater extent could easily be viewed as an extreme response from an outsider's perspective.

As the cases involving Ortiz, Clase, Rozier and Jones are carried out, the pivotal question for sports betting throughout 2026 will be how to limit such instances from taking place yet again. Even if such occurrences are eventually deemed inevitable, gaming needs to decide who is to blame for this illegal activity before it can ever truly find the root of sports betting's most fearsome challenge.