Scandals Prompt Probe

Congressional Inquiry Into Sports Betting Shifts Pressure Onto Unions

  • Congressional inquiry targets players’ unions on back of recent betting scandals
  • The HEWC wants the unions to do more to educate their athlete members
  • The unions were set a January 31 deadline to provide case studies, strategies

A Congressional inquiry into sports betting has launched on the back of recent athlete gambling scandals.

Focus on Players’ Unions

House Education and Workforce Committee (HEWC) Chairman Tim Walberg has launched an inquiry into sports betting, citing recent athlete gambling scandals.

According to a government press release, Walberg sent a letter to multiple players’ unions with direct focus on recent reports of illegal sports gambling schemes “involving professional athletes.”

The contacted bodies included the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) and the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA).

Inside Information Concerns

The HEWC’s press release highlighted the arrests of NBA’s Terry Rozier and Damon Jones for using proprietary league information to make illegal bets. Also mentioned were Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz who were indicted for sharing information with bettors “about which pitches they would throw.”

The Congressman stated the cases revealed “an alarming rise in proprietary information sharing to benefit certain gamblers” and that the actions “eviscerate the integrity of sports and hurt honest, law-abiding athletes.”

Pressure on Unions to Act

Walberg, however, appealed to the players’ unions, stating the HEWC understood their importance in educating athletes on illegal betting risks, and “seeks to understand how you can better ensure proper conduct among players to safeguard free and fair competition.”

Applying pressure to the players’ associations to drastically improve athlete education and compliance programs, the Committee has set a deadline of January 31 to hear what actions the unions have taken or plan to take “to curtail players from using proprietary information to skew sports betting.”