Betting is the ‘Achilles’ heel’ of US sports. Are leagues doing enough?
It has been an uncomfortable few days for US sports and betting.
Earlier this week, Ippei Mizuhara, longtime interpreter of Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, pleaded guilty in court to fraud and tax charges for stealing almost $17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers slugger to pay off gambling debts.
The hearing came on the same day that Major League
Baseball (MLB)
banned San Diego Padres player Tucupita Marcano for life after he bet on baseball games, as well as suspending four other players for a year for
трипскан тор betting on games while in the minor leagues.
Meanwhile, a Brooklyn man was charged with conspiring with three others to defraud a sports betting company by using inside information from a National Basketball Association (NBA) player to successfully bet on the performance of that player, who was later banned from the league, according to a federal complaint filed this week.
CNN has determined the player is former Toronto Raptors big man Jontay Porter, who was handed a lifetime ban from the NBA after an investigation found that the 24-year-old had violated betting rules.
"Fans and consumers will put up with a lot when it comes to sports – just look at how the vast majority of off-field issues not affecting the integrity of the game tend to fade over time," David Carter, adjunct professor of management and organization at USC Marshall School of Business, told CNN.
"But matters affecting the integrity of the game have a chilling effect across the board and governing bodies know this is their Achilles heel," he warned.