First appeared in BOXSCORE
By Aron Solomon
In massive international sports news, the team of former NBA players Michael Beasley and Eric Bledsoe was disqualified from the playoffs in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) due to allegations of game-fixing.
The CBA’s initial investigation of last Friday’s events found that the two teams involved – the Shanghai Sharks and Jiangsu Dragons – were guilty of “being negative in competition,” with the Sharks accused of match-fixing.
The Sharks’ Bledsoe was not competing in the playoff series as he was serving a four-game suspension. Michael Beasley was also not playing in the playoff series as he had parted ways with the Sharks in the fall. Beasley had signed with the Sharks in June but only played four games for them in October before parting ways. Therefore, contrary to the vast majority media reports, he was not involved in the alleged match-fixing that led to the disqualification of the Sharks and Dragons from the CBA playoffs.
In China, it is widely believed that powerful gambling syndicates manage match-fixing, with players, coaches, referees, and association officials all implicated. The sport of soccer has been particularly affected, as it offers greater rewards in terms of compensation, sponsorships, and prize money compared to basketball. But last Friday should teach us that no sport is immune.
Despite a one-year ban on NBA games being broadcasted in China due to a team executive’s supportive comments regarding Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, basketball remains immensely popular in the country. This is largely due to Yao Ming’s illustrious NBA career – the same Yao Ming who now runs China’s CBA.
The question we should all be considering this week is how long we will need to wait for the inevitable game-fixing scandals to reach our highest professional leagues. As someone who has closely followed the rise of sports gambling (and who, parenthetically, doesn’t gamble),I can assure you this is absolutely going to happen and the reason why is painfully obvious.
The rise of legalized sports gambling in the United States has been nothing short of massive. Prior to May 2018, Nevada was the only state in the country that offered legalized sports betting. However, a Supreme Court ruling granted states the individual power to legalize sports betting in the United States if and when they choose. Since then, 33 states and Washington D.C. have legalized some form of sports betting, with a handful of other states currently debating whether to legalize it themselves.
The economic ramifications of online sports gambling have been significant. More money generated by sportsbooks has led to more tax revenue for state governments that have legalized online sports betting. This has been a major factor in the decision-making process for many states, as they look to boost their economies and generate additional revenue streams.
The growth of sports gambling has been fueled by the increasing popularity of sports in the United States, as well as the rise of online and mobile betting platforms. The convenience of being able to place bets from anywhere at any time has made sports betting more accessible than ever before. This has led to a surge in the number of people participating in sports betting, which has in turn driven up the amount of money being wagered.
However, the expansion of legalized sports gambling has also raised concerns about the potential for problem gambling and addiction. Critics argue that the ease of access to online and mobile betting platforms makes it too easy for people to develop gambling problems. There are also valid concerns about the potential for corruption and match-fixing in sports, as well as the impact that sports betting could have on the integrity of the games themselves.
Yet despite all of these concerns, the growth of legalized sports gambling in the United States shows no signs of slowing down. As more states continue to legalize sports betting, the industry is expected to continue to grow and evolve. It remains to be seen what the long-term impact of this expansion will be, but one thing is crystal clear: betting on sports is now firmly entrenched in American culture. Sports gambling is here to stay and along with that will come unimaginable problems.
Rich DiTomaso, a Philadelphia lawyer, points out that where our highest level of professional sports intersect with gambling, it’s a potential recipe for disaster:
“Anyone who considers the events last week in the CBA and believes it couldn’t happen in our top professional leagues is being naive. An estimated $100 billion is wagered each year just on the NFL and just through licensed sportsbooks. With so much money floating around, the temptation to influence the result could be too much for some to bear.”
DiTomaso also has his finger on the pulse of what happened last week in China, where there was a cost-benefit calculus with all involved parties that taking the risk to break the law and potentially break the sport was worth the financial gain.
This is a pretty lousy place for sports to be.
While legalized gambling is off the charts because it can generate significant revenue for sports leagues and organizations, it also poses significant risks to the integrity of sports and the well-being of athletes.
More and more legalized sports betting will undermine the integrity of the games themselves and erode public trust in the fairness of our sports competitions and the integrity of the leagues.
We need to think and talk more about the impact that gambling could have on athletes’ mental health and well-being, as well as the potential for addiction and problem gambling.
Simply put, as attorney DiTomaso said, we need to divorce ourselves from the notion that our professional leagues are so steeped in integrity that no one is going to risk breaking the law for a potentially big financial windfall.
The list of professional athletes who have admitted to having massive gambling debts or addictions include Phil Mickelson, Michael Jordan, Antoine Walker, Floyd Mayweather, Pete Rose (banned for life from baseball for gambling), John Daly, and Alex Rodriguez.
Two NHL players had to file for bankruptcy in part because of gambling debts.
Evander Kane, who played for the San Jose Sharks, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2021 and owed nearly $27 million in debts, including $1.5 million gambling debts incurred over twelve months to a bookie and a casino. Darren McCarty, who played for the Calgary Flames, filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and owed $185,000 to a trio of casinos.
As last week’s China scandal clearly shoes is, as the money wagered on sports continues to increase, our risk window for massive professional sports game-fixing scandals closely follows.
About Aron Solomon
A Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer, Aron Solomon, JD, is the Chief Legal Analyst for Esquire Digital and the Editor-in-Chief for Today’s Esquire. He has taught entrepreneurship at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania, and was elected to Fastcase 50, recognizing the top 50 legal innovators in the world. Aron has been featured in Forbes, CBS News, CNBC, USA Today, ESPN, TechCrunch, The Hill, BuzzFeed, Fortune, Venture Beat, The Independent, Fortune China, Yahoo!, ABA Journal, Law.com, The Boston Globe, YouTube, NewsBreak, and many other leading publications.