Ubiquitous Sports Betting Was Inevitable. So Are Sports Betting Scandals.

May 23, 2024 | Sports

OUR TAKE

In 2018, we predicted the Supreme Court’s move to broadly legalize sports betting. While Ohtani may prove to be innocent, the situation serves as an unsettling reminder that, with the proliferation of legalized betting across almost every major sport, corruption is inevitable. The only question is at what scale. So what will happen when the first clear-cut scandal happens? We are too far along to walk back sports betting. So it is up to each professional sports league to have the fortitude to uphold and enforce anti-gambling standards for its players. Once the fix is in, will we ever be able to fix sports?

Source Summary

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has been under the microscope after it was revealed that wire transfers in excess of $4.5m were made in his name to a California bookmaker. While Ohtani has maintained his innocence, saying the bets were placed by his former translator, it brings to mind past events of fixing games that significantly altered both the sports and betting landscapes. It’s time to ask the question, is betting ruining the integrity of sports?

[Los Angeles Times ]