We should have seen NBA's betting scandal coming

PUBLISHED: October 28, 2025 | www.baltimoresun.com

Hall of Famer head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were recently arrested and charged for various betting-related crimes, all tied to the Mafia, as part of Operation Royal Flush and Operation Nothing But Net conducted by the Department of Justice under FBI Director Kash Patel.

Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a Hall of Famer, was indicted for poker rigging activities. Billups, along with others, is purported to have engaged in Mafia-affiliated poker games, employing sophisticated cheating devices such as X-ray tables, infrared contact lenses and custom card shuffling machines to extract over $7 million from victims. Billups was allegedly used as bait — a well-known basketball star — to lure in unsuspecting victims. When the purported victims of this scheme incurred losses and declined to pay their gambling debts, the members of these organized crime families involved would resort to threats and intimidation to guarantee the collection of their money.

Terry Rozier is purported to have conspired with organized crime organizations to furnish insider information regarding NBA games. Gamblers are alleged to have profited from at least seven games, three of which involved Rozier or others withdrawing prematurely, allowing others to place prop bets that yielded hundreds of thousands of dollars, wagering on them to underperform (such as betting on them to score under a certain amount of points, or to get fewer than a certain number of rebounds, among other bets) in those games. In one brazen example, Rozier left after playing for just nine minutes in one game.

This is clearly the most significant sports scandal in U.S. history since members of the Chicago White Sox conspired to fix the 1919 World Series. The accusations against Pete Rose are not remotely comparable to this. We are talking about millions of dollars and the collusion between the Mafia and NBA players, including a Hall of Famer. Although these remain mere allegations at this point, the evidence is damning.

This was merely a question of time. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in 2018 that the federal government lacked control over sports wagering, permitting states to legalize in-person and mobile gambling, athletes — regardless of their skill level — have been afforded the opportunity to exploit their positions to steal millions. And today, with the ability to wager on sports through largely unregulated prediction markets and offshore online casinos utilizing cryptocurrencies, individual athletes can execute their plans undetected.

As the Apostle Paul said, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil; some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10)

Money corrupts everyone, including those who don’t need any more money. Terry Rozier earned $24 million per year for his talents. No one needs more than that; nonetheless, he was prepared to jeopardize all of it for a laughably small sum — merely what he earns from playing a few games.

This is the course that our nation is charting. There is an increasing number of opportunities to wager one’s hard-earned money on various activities, accompanied by the allure of wealth and the promise of overcoming poverty. We are moving toward an environment where such conduct will become commonplace, where all facets of life become bettable, and anyone possessing insider information on any matter can use it to their advantage, to the disadvantage of others.

I cannot express much sympathy for the betting sites and bookies that incurred losses from this agreement. They seemingly have it all their way. They terminate your account when you win too much, let you continue to bet when you keep losing, and get you imprisoned if you don’t play by the rules.

This is merely the beginning. The next sport, if any, should be the NFL, as its betting volume surpasses that of every other sport by a gargantuan sum. Players capable of managing every facet of the game are leaving an excessive amount of money on the table if they’re not fixing their performances already.

America must acknowledge that gambling is increasingly infiltrating all facets of life. There are so many people who will happily take your money as they promise you riches beyond belief.

Unfortunately, like their residents, states have grown addicted to gambling revenue, and in many foreign nations, corrupt politicians are practically owned by major betting companies. Gambling is a scheme as old as civilization itself, and it survives for one simple reason: It’s immensely profitable. Players, on average, always lose more than they win.

Once, gambling was seen as complicated, taboo and something to be avoided. Now it’s effortless, normalized and even promoted by governments. In the end, what did we really expect?