As news of the recent federal sports betting investigation into NBA players circulated Thursday, similarities between the case involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and prior sports betting scandals were apparent. Specifically, how prop bets have played a role in multiple recent cases across professional sports.
A prop bet, short for proposition bet, is a wager on a specific event within a game or competition that is separate from the final outcome. The wager is tied to a player’s performance, like an over/under for the number of points a player scores in a game, or the number of strikeouts a pitcher throws or the number of yards a quarterback throws for.
The varieties of prop bets are seemingly limitless, as new ones are constantly being created, and have even bled into a subcategory of even more granular, in-game bets called microbets. Because prop bets are based on individual statistics, they are also more susceptible to manipulation in a way that the final outcome of a competition may not be.
For example, Rozier was the latest high-profile athlete accused of manipulating his performance so co-conspirators could hit their prop bets. Last year, Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA and pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after an investigation found that he engaged in similar behavior. In Major League Baseball, Cleveland Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase is under a league gambling investigation and was placed on paid administrative leave from the team in July, joining teammate Luis Ortiz, who is also under investigation after suspicious gambling activity on his pitches was flagged by a betting integrity firm.
Experts say that some form of regulation when it comes to prop bets is likely necessary to preserve the integrity of the games, though they caution against a wholesale ban. John Holden, a professor at Indiana University whose work focuses on legal issues in sports, including sports betting regulation, said he favored a nuanced approach that recognizes the differences in the types of bets being placed.
“I don’t think banning all prop bets is the solution. … I just think that some of these prop bets are much more vulnerable and cause much greater integrity concerns than others,” Holden said. “Like, Josh Allen, if he’s going to throw for more than 250 yards, I don’t think there are huge integrity concerns about that, or LeBron James’ points. Those don’t raise the same level of concern to me as Terry Rozier or Jontay Porter’s under minutes in a game.”
The NBA has attempted to address some of those concerns. A year ago, The Athletic reported that the league reached an agreement with its betting partners to not offer any “under” prop bets on players who are on either a two-way or 10-day contract. The move, in theory, was to prevent players making less money from engaging in gambling schemes.
Holden, however, pointed out that “high salaries in and of themselves aren’t a deterrent to corruption.” He also suggested that leagues could devote more resources to athlete education around gambling and to helping those with gambling addictions that may leave athletes vulnerable to crime.
The NCAA, meanwhile, has pushed for bans on prop bets in college sports. NCAA president Charlie Baker lobbied federal and state lawmakers last year, saying that the league believed preventing bettors from gambling on athletes’ performances would make them less likely to “attempt to scrutinize, coerce or harass student-athletes.”
Joe Maloney, a spokesperson for the American Gaming Association, a lobbying and advocacy group for the gambling industry, said the group encourages a dialogue between regulators, leagues, sportsbooks and the public in the world of legalized sports betting to address concerns.
“There are areas that pose an integrity risk,” Maloney said. “It’s all part of the dialogue and the opportunity that comes with the legal market, so whether that is objectionable bets or differing types of offerings when it comes to prop bets, that’s all up for debate.”
Maloney also noted that the legalization of betting has allowed for the oversight and transparency necessary to combat potential corruption.
Holden, though, cautioned against leaning too far into the argument that prop bets, or at least certain types, shouldn’t be banned because they would be offered in an unregulated market anyway.
“I think banning certain types of prop bets can still be good public policy, even if someone else in an unregulated or illegal market is going to offer that,” Holden said. “It doesn’t mean that we should allow it in the regulated market because it sends the wrong message. Reducing the number of market opportunities for corruption, I do think can be a positive.”