• Sports Betting

The Top 5 Biggest Sports Betting Scandals in Modern History

Sports betting scandals were inevitable after every major US sports league paired up with official sports gambling sponsors. The increase in new sports betting legislation has made it easier than ever to bet on your favorite sports. Unfortunately, athletes, coaches, and officials are human, too, and some have tried their hand at betting on the sports they play. 

Keep reading to learn more about the five biggest betting scandals since 2000. I highlight the biggest examples of match-fixing, point shaving, and the use of inside information to manipulate sports bets we have seen this century. 

What Counts as a Sports Betting Scandal?

A sports betting scandal is any plan to compromise the integrity of the game to increase the chances of specific bets winning. There are many different types of scandals, including:

Top 5 Sports Betting Scandals

Sports betting scandals come in all shapes and sizes, and many have led to lifetime bans for the perpetrators. Here are the five biggest betting scandals in sports since the year 2000. 

Shohei Ohtani Betting Scandal

Shohei Ohtani took another step toward GOAT status in 2025 by winning back-to-back titles with the Dodgers and securing his fourth regular-season MVP. However, his first year in LA could not have started much worse. Ohtani’s interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was caught illegally placing bets. 

According to reports, Mizuhara used Ohtani’s name to earn credit with the illegal bookie and then stole money from the two-way star to pay off his debts. Current estimates say that Mizuhara stole over $16 million from Ohtani to fund his gambling problem. The MLB cleared Ohtani of any wrongdoing in 2024. 

The Tim Donaghy NBA Betting Scandal

Arguably the biggest sports betting scandal this century, the Tim Donaghy NBA betting scandal rocked the basketball world in the 2000s. Donaghy, an NBA referee, helped fix NBA games to pay off his debt to organized crime. 

According to Donaghy, he only made $30,000 for helping to fix games between 2003 and 2007. However, others involved in the scheme claim that Donaghy made over $200,000 for his role in match-fixing over that time. Donaghy also claims NBA refs helped fix the 2002 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Kings. 

Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier’s NBA Betting Scandal

A more recent example of an NBA betting scandal is the ongoing investigation into Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier. According to the FBI, Rozier faked an injury to exit a game early and force the under on his player props to hit. Billups, on the other hand, gave inside information to bettors in exchange for money. 

The investigation is ongoing, so it is unclear how much money was involved in these incidents. However, it has been reported that the scheme involved tens of millions of dollars, and over 30 people have been arrested in connection with the case.

Cleveland Guardians Pitching Scandal

Another betting scandal that rocked the sports world in 2025 involved Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. According to allegations, Clase and Ortiz took bribes to throw specific pitches to help bettors win prop wagers. 

Clase and Ortiz were reportedly paid anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000 per pitch. However, the bettors involved in the scheme are believed to have won up to $460,000 off their fraudulent wagers. 

Multiple NFL Players Suspended for Gambling in 2023

The NFL has avoided major betting scandals like those above, but it has not emerged from the sports betting boom completely unscathed. In 2023, the league suspended five players for violating the NFL’s gambling rules. 

Lions’ players Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill placed bets from their mobile devices while at the Lions’ facility, but they did not wager on the NFL. They only received six-game suspensions for their conduct. Quintez Cephus (DET), C.J. Moore (DET), and Shaka Toney (WAS), on the other hand, were all suspended indefinitely for wagering on NFL games.

Later that year, Isaiah Rodgers Sr. (IND), Rashod Berry (IND), and Demetrius Taylor (FA) all received season-long suspensions for betting on NFL games. Tennessee’s Nicholas Petit-Frere was also suspended for six games after he was caught wagering on other sports while at the team’s facility. 

Honorable Mention: The First Sports Betting Scandal

Betting scandals are not a new phenomenon in sports. Pete Rose, baseball’s all-time hit leader, was famously banned for life from the MLB in 1989 for betting on Reds games. Decades earlier, eight members of the White Sox worked together to rig the 1919 World Series, earning the infamous moniker the Black Sox.  

The first incident of match fixing in baseball is even older than that, though. In 1865, three members of the New York Mutuals accepted bribes of $100 each, just under $2,000 when adjusted for inflation, to throw a game against the Brooklyn Eckfords. Thomas Devyr, the Mutuals catcher and one of the players involved in the incident, confessed to the scheme after the game. 

What Sports Stars Will Fumble the Bet Next?

No league is immune to sports betting scandals, but where will the next big incident take place? The NFL has avoided the magnitude of the scandals the NBA and MLB have dealt with, but how long will that last?

Fans have complained about NFL officiating for years, though, and often accuse referees of favoring the game’s top stars. All it would take is one ref to take a bribe for the NFL to have a Tim Donaghy-level scandal of its own. Heavily criticized officials like Carl Cheffers and Brad Allen could be ones to watch.