Sports betting arrests bring fresh scrutiny to explosion of online wagering in New York
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups leaves court after his arraignment on Thursday in Portland. Credit: Getty Images/Mathieu Lewis-Rolland
The arrests on Thursday of more than 30 people, including several high-profile NBA figures, in a pair of illegal betting probes, has brought fresh scrutiny to the pervasiveness of online sports wagering, which has exploded in popularity in recent years.
While critics contend the scandal shows that online sports betting, including smartphone apps such as DraftKings and FanDuel, are subject to potential player-driven manipulation, proponents argue the arrests prove that the heavily regulated legal gambling industry has the tools in place to root out fraud and suspicious behavior.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former player Damon Jones were among those charged. They have denied the charges.
Rozier and other defendants are accused of exploiting nonpublic information to place hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent NBA prop bets, which allow gamblers to wager on whether a player will exceed a certain statistical number, such as points scored. Billups was charged in a separate scheme involving rigged poker games backed by organized crime
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- This week's arrest of 30 people in connection with sports betting probes shines a light of the pervasive and growing influence of on-line sports wagering.
- New York customers spent a recording-breaking $23.94 billion betting on sports from April 2024 to March 2025 — a nearly 22% increase from one year earlier.
- Annual calls to a confidential gambling helpline operated by the State Office of Addiction Services and Support have grown more than 30% in the past five years.
'The next big threat'
Online sports betting has exploded in New York since its legalization in January 2022, when it broke national records, earning $693 million in tax revenue on the $16.2 billion wagered.
Those numbers have only grown in recent years, with New Yorkers spending a record-breaking $23.94 billion betting on sports from April 2024 to March 2025 — a nearly 22% increase from one year earlier that amounts to $2.14 billion in gross gaming revenue, according to data from the New York State Gaming Commission.
In fact, prop-based wagering is so pervasive that in the wake of Thursday's arrests, oddsmakers are allowing bettors to wager on the next player or coach to be arrested for illegal gambling and on whether Rozier or Billups — both of whom have denied the charges — would receive longer prison sentences.
With opportunities to gamble continuing to proliferate, the number of New Yorkers seeking help for gambling addiction have also skyrocketed, data shows.
Annual calls to a confidential gambling helpline operated by the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports increased more than 30% in the past five years, from 2,345 in 2020 to 3,064 last year, agency figures show.
Meanwhile, the number of New Yorkers in inpatient or outpatient treatment for a gambling disorder jumped 46%, from 3,535 in 2020 to 5,173 in 2023, OASAS data shows.
"Our communities have a gambling problem, and it’s not limited to professional athletes," said Jeffrey Reynolds, president and CEO of Family & Children’s Association in Garden City, which provides gambling addiction services. "We see more young people, mostly young men, coming to us for help with huge amounts of gambling debt, anxiety, depression and family chaos. Problem gambling may be the next big threat to our kids, especially when combined with social media ads from sports books and 24/7 access via their phones."
Carine Morrison, the Long Island team leader at the Albany-based New York Council on Problem Gambling, said it's difficult to predict how the NBA case will impact local bettors.
"High-profile stories involving gambling can increase public attention on the broader issues of gambling behavior and potential risks," Morrison said. "This can present an opportunity to raise awareness about problem gambling and the resources available for individuals and families who may be struggling."
Sportsbooks tout regulations
While addiction experts see Thursday's arrests as a potential intervention opportunity, online sports betting companies argue the scandal only proves that regulations and monitors, put in place to detect fraud, are working as intended.
"While regulation cannot eliminate all concerns related to game integrity, it significantly reduces risks by enabling collaboration between operators, leagues, teams and relevant authorities to identify and hold accountable anyone engaged in illegal behavior," said Stephen Miraglia, a spokesman for DraftKings.
Gaming Commission spokesman Lee Park agreed, noting that the trading of nonpublic information has long been prohibited in sports wagering.
"New York State requires sports wagering operators to use an independent integrity monitor to identify and report sports wagering patterns that are unusual or suspicious," Park said. "We are encouraged that the monitor apparently uncovered the illegal scheme that resulted in the law enforcement action."
Through the third quarter of 2025, legal sports betting generated upward of $10 billion in revenue nationwide, up 19% from the same period one year earlier, according to the American Gaming Association.
In addition, the NBA and other pro sports leagues, along with networks such as ESPN, have created lucrative revenue streams by partnering with sports books and reaping advertising dollars. The leagues generally prohibit players and employees from betting on their own games.
"It is important to recognize that the regulated legal market delivers transparency, oversight and collaboration with authorities that assists in bringing these bad actors to light," said AGA president and chief executive Bill Miller.
More casinos on tap
The expansion of legal gambling, once confined to occasional visits to Atlantic City and Las Vegas, is far from limited to sports-based apps.
Jake's 58 Casino Hotel in Islandia, which broke ground last year on a $210 million expansion, has become one of the most profitable betting operations in the state, raking in a record $300 million in net revenue in fiscal 2024-25 after bettors received their winnings, according to Gaming Commission data.
In December, the commission is set to award up to three downstate casino licenses.
The three remaining bids are Hard Rock at Metropolitan Park near Citi Field from Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen; Bally’s Bronx, at a golf course formerly run by the Trump Organization; and at Resorts World New York City, a racino that already has limited gambling facilities at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
It's Your Business! This month's roundup including how to protect yourself from digital scams Join NewsdayTV as we recount the top business stories on LI that you need to know about.
It's Your Business! This month's roundup including how to protect yourself from digital scams Join NewsdayTV as we recount the top business stories on LI that you need to know about.
