Independent Oversight Is Best Fix for Sports Gambling Problem

Sports fans should be outraged, but not shocked, by recent betting scandals rocking professional baseball and basketball. Now that sports betting is legal in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, leagues have gone from treating gambling as off-limits to embracing it as a lucrative revenue stream.

As the potential for illegal activity grows, the leagues often can’t (or won’t) police themselves. Real accountability requires independent oversight by those with expertise and enough distance to call out the bad behavior that undermines fans’ faith in the game.

Stadiums host sportsbooks, networks broadcast the odds, and leagues tout their “official gaming partners.” Is it any wonder that some athletes stand accused of turning to unofficial (illegal) gaming partners in these enterprises?

It’s a multibillion-dollar business—and a glaring conflict of interest.

As a former federal prosecutor, I can tell you that law enforcement sees corruption in professional sports as no different than any other illegal scheme. From 2022 until recently, I led the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office as the acting US Attorney and First Assistant.

We successfully prosecuted former Congressman George Santos on fraud charges (President Donald Trump has since commuted the sentence) and singer turned serial sex offender R. Kelly, Mexican drug lord “El Mayo” Zambada, and the killers of hip hop star Jam Master Jay.

The office cracked down on corruption in international soccer: The FIFA prosecutions spanned a decade, with more than 30 guilty pleas and multiple trial convictions to date.

When powerful institutions appear unwilling or unable to stop criminal schemes from happening, federal prosecutors step in.

Recent cases coming out of the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office may help explain why federal prosecutors and the FBI felt compelled to act. One case alleged that a current NBA coach and a former player were conspiring with members of organized crime families to rig illegal poker games, causing victims to lose millions.

Another case charges former and current NBA players and coaches with feeding inside information to betters. A third case involves the MLB, where two Cleveland Guardians players allegedly conspired with bettors to fix the proposition, or “prop,” bets on their own pitches.

Federal prosecutions of illegal sports betting are important and will deter some bad actors. But if we’re serious about restoring integrity, major league sports need something outside the ambit of what prosecutors can provide: an independent watchdog focused on the problem.

Until recently, the leagues insisted they had it covered, pointing to strict gambling bans for players and personnel, and partnerships with sportsbooks and integrity-monitoring firms to identify suspicious betting. But that argument falls apart considering the NBA investigated player Terry Rozier, in connection with a betting probe in 2023 and found no violation of league rules. In 2025, he was arrested as part of a federal investigation into a sports gambling ring, on charges that he pulled himself from a game early with a fake injury to rig the prop bets on his performance.

From the 1919 Black Sox scandal to the Pete Rose ban from baseball to the latest arrests, the pattern is the same: Leagues keep promising they can police themselves, failing, and promising next time will be better. And repeat.

There’s a working model for how this could be done. Wall Street has the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, a private watchdog funded by the industry it oversees. It is an example of how a profitable industry can embrace independent oversight.

Sports can borrow that playbook. Each league, or one umbrella body, could create an inspector general for sports integrity that’s funded by the leagues but structurally independent. As a former inspector general for New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, I know that such an IG would fairly and impartially investigate internal misconduct, and, when necessary, refer crimes to prosecutors.

That’s how we did it at the MTA, where we rooted out acts of waste, fraud, and abuse and instituted best practices, all while securing tens of millions in cost savings for the largest public transportation network in North America.”

Substantiated findings could be made public, and faith in the games would return. This model would keep the leagues honest and restore credibility with the fans. Given how much money the leagues are making, funding this would seem to be an easy layup.

The commissioners acknowledge they need help. “I think, probably, there should be more regulation, frankly,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in October on the “Pat McAfee Show” after the latest scandal.

“We didn’t ask to have legalized sports betting,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred also said in October. “It kind of came, and that’s the environment in which we operate. Now we don’t have a lot of choice about that, and if it’s going to change—broadly change—probably the only way it would happen is the federal government.”

But while proposing federal legislation is a good start, waiting on Congress, still reeling from the latest government shutdown and mired in partisan bickering, is just punting. Fan trust is eroding now. The commissioners can act today.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.

Author Information

Carolyn Pokorny was recently acting US Attorney for the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Danielle Bluestein Hass is an operations and communications leader who previously served in the Eastern District US Attorney’s Office.

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