The arrests of current and former high-profile NBA figures on Thursday for illegal sports betting and rigged poker games spurred fresh calls from lawmakers for federal regulation after the scandal exposed evidence of the corrupting influence of betting on sports.
Since a 2018 Supreme Court decision overturned a federal law prohibiting sports betting outside Nevada, 38 states and D.C. have legalized gambling on sports and spawned a multibillion-dollar industry, according to the American Gaming Association.
Members of the House and Senate on Thursday called for “safeguards” after FBI agents arrested more than 30 people, including Portland Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups, who authorities said was involved in a mob-run rigged poker scheme and supplied information to sports bettors about his team. The indictment does not suggest that Billups played any role in the placing of bets or that he received any money in return for the inside information that was used.
