A massive point-shaving scheme involving dozens of college players, and the Chinese Basketball Association, shows how fast corruption spreads when gambling takes over.
The recent federal indictment1 announced on January 15th by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania represents a stark warning about the risks that legalized sports betting poses to the integrity of athletics, especially in a state like Texas, where college and high school sports are woven into the fabric of our communities.
A Massive, Coordinated Scheme Exposed
This week,2 Federal prosecutors charged 26 individuals in connection with an alleged bribery and point-shaving conspiracy that targeted both NCAA Division I men’s basketball games and games in China’s professional league (the Chinese Basketball Association, or CBA).
The scheme, which began as early as September 2022, involved “fixers” who allegedly recruited players to underperform just enough to ensure their teams failed to cover the betting spread, without necessarily altering the outright winner.
According to the indictment, the operation enlisted more than 39 players across at least 17 Division I NCAA teams, who fixed or attempted to fix more than 29 games during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons. Bribes typically ranged from $10,000 to $30,000 per game, often targeting players on underdog teams or those whose legitimate Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) earnings were limited. The fixers placed millions of dollars in wagers on these manipulated outcomes, generating substantial illegal profits.
Prosecutors described this as a serious, transnational criminal enterprise involving charges such as bribery in sporting contests, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud, offenses that carry potential penalties of up to 20 years in prison for the fraud-related counts.
This wasn’t an isolated incident limited to one conference or region; it spanned multiple levels of college basketball, highlighting how broadly corruption can spread when incentives align with widespread gambling access.
This Fits a Troubling Pattern
While some may dismiss this as a one-off, the facts show it’s part of a growing wave of gambling-related scandals since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision allowing states to legalize sports betting. The sports gambling industry has boomed, but so have integrity breaches:
- In 2024, the NBA issued a lifetime ban to Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter over prop-bet irregularities and gambling policy violations.3
- Investigations in Iowa targeted dozens of athletes from the University of Iowa and Iowa State for alleged illegal gambling activity.4
- Major League Baseball permanently banned Tucupita Marcano in 2024 for betting on baseball, with several others suspended for similar violations.5
- A recent FBI gambling bust, as reported on by TFR last fall, involved multiple layers of actors, from coaches to players and organized crime rings.6
These cases—combined with these new probes, demonstrate that as betting expands, the pressure on athletes increases, and the scandals multiply.
Why This Matters to Texans
Texas, of course, cherishes its sports heritage. College athletics here aren’t just entertainment; they’re sources of pride, tradition, community identity, and even opportunity. When gamblers bribe players to manipulate outcomes, it erodes trust in the games we love, cheats fans, and undermines honest competition.
Beyond college, the gambling industry’s playbook is predictable: start with sports betting, push for mobile gambling, then lobby for broader expansions like casinos.
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility has long opposed inviting these elements into our state. Contrary to popular belief they do not bring an economic boon, but rather fuels addiction and corruption, increases enforcement and legal costs, ruins families and financial stability, and siphons hard-earned money out of individuals pockets and into the hands of the “House.”
The Slippery Slope is Real
Another alarming implication for Texas is how easily this corruption could reach our high school level. High school sports encompasses a variety of aspects: community pride, youth development, and pathways to scholarships. But point-shaving doesn’t require professional stars; it only needs temptation, access, and financial pressure on young athletes.
If fixers can infiltrate Division I programs nationwide, high school sports are certainly not immune. One scandal in a Texas high school game could shatter decades of trust in one of our cherished local traditions.
Texas Must Stay Vigilant and Say No
This indictment from federal prosecutors serves as another national wake-up call. Sports betting doesn’t just “regulate” gambling, it creates markets for manipulation that threaten the fairness and sanctity of competition at every level.7
Texas should stand up to protect our state from this corruption, and continue to fight for clean, honest athletics from college to high school, without gambling interests dictating outcomes.
We call on lawmakers and citizens alike to reject expansions of sports gambling, online betting markets and casinos. Once corruption takes hold, it spreads, and it doesn’t leave easily.
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- https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr/26-people-charged-alleged-bribery-and-point-shaving-scheme-fix-ncaa-cba-mens ↩︎
- https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/47619154/many-college-players-20-charged-point-shaving-scheme ↩︎
- https://apnews.com/article/nba-jontay-porter-banned-265ad5cb703d9483347037762ee90a8f ↩︎
- https://apnews.com/article/iowa-alabama-gambling-ncaa-investigation-59d44b208ba35f6a0b25e14119b55bb3 ↩︎
- https://apnews.com/article/mlb-gambling-marcano-ban-948cce07c953494e7c7621e47692e1ba ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/fbi-gambling-bust-exposes-hazards-of-legalized-betting/ ↩︎
- https://texastaxpayers.com/the-growing-harms-of-sports-betting/ ↩︎
