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U.S. Details Gambling Cases Involving Pro Athletes and Mafia Families

(www.nytimes.com)
69 points ilamont | 1 comments | 23 Oct 25 17:37 UTC | HN request time: 0.239s | source
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nradov ◴[23 Oct 25 18:14 UTC] No.45684997[source]▶
The pro sports leagues made a Faustian bargain when they partnered with sports books like FanDuel and BetMGM. Those deals brought in licensing revenue and drove up short term fan engagement because the punters betting on games watch the whole thing without switching channels. But long term I think it's going to burn their business model. The temptation for players to take a bribe is huge and now every time fans see something happen on the field that seems unexpected they start to doubt whether it's real. If the leagues don't get a handle on this then in a few decades they'll be seen as jokes: anyone still watching will be doing it for campy or ironic entertainment like professional wrestling.
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gadders ◴[23 Oct 25 19:08 UTC] No.45685591[source]▶
You know sports betting has existed in other counties for dozens of years, right?

All these people making predictions like this is some bold leap into the unknown but it's been legal in the UK since the 1960s.

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1. n4r9 ◴[23 Oct 25 22:14 UTC] No.45688035[source]▶
The UK has evolved a sophisticated detection and deterrent system: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/licensees-and-business...

UK regulations are also more coherent, centralised, and strict than the patchwork US model.

The question is whether the US has the gumption and collaborative power to put something similar in place before the damage is done.