Across the United States, several states have been legalizing sports betting, and many major online sports betting sites have been advertising to millions of Americans. It seems that sports betting is an upcoming new trend in the United States. However, the integrity of the betting platform has been under scrutiny for some time, and now Congress has decided to start an investigation into some of the biggest sports betting scandals.
Over the past few months, the federal government has probed the sports gambling scene after suspicious activity was noticed with placed bets and athletes performing unlikely events that many placed bets on happening. Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz, and Emmanuel Clase are just a few among many who are either under investigation or in court fighting charges against them.
A professor at the University of New Haven, Declan Hill, gave the following statement to lawmakers: “If you’re watching a game and you think, ‘Is this the glorious uncertainty of sport, or is this some theater designed by gambling mobsters and their addicted athletes?’ then the joy of sport is dead, ladies and gentlemen,”
Senator Richard Blumental said the following “These growing scandals simply highlight the need for national standards that stop the sports betting industry from exploiting vulnerable gamblers and the potential corruption among the players themselves,” they continue, “The sports betting industry has grown huge without any kind of safeguards against the use of algorithms and micro bets to target individuals, whether they are gamblers or players in sports.”
Sports betting is the newest iteration of the gambling scene that has been released with very few universal regulations. Hopefully, the federal government will be able to establish a universal system for the activity and ensure that this gambling method does not harm the citizens of the United States.
