The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned in 2018, and since then, 38 states, plus Washington, D.C., have legalized sports betting of some form. While pro leagues, the NCAA, and athletes everywhere have had time to reckon with the changes, 2024 will go down as the year of the sports betting scandal.
The NBA, MLB, and college basketball were just some of the leagues rocked by sports gambling headlines this year, which ranged from the interpreter of superstar Shohei Ohtani to relatively unknown players like Tucupita Marcano. The result was multiple lifetime bans and a renewed sense of caution.
Given the massive foothold that companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel have gained through sponsorships, plus the billions in revenue that continue to be generated, there’s a good chance 2024 will be remembered for the floodgates opening rather than a one-year blip.
Here’s a look at the notable sports betting scandals over the year:
Ippei Mizuhara
Shohei Ohtani’s remarkable 2024 season started with scandal and ended with a World Series title. Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter and longtime confidant of the Dodgers star, was found to have stolen nearly $17 million from Ohtani to cover his massive illegal gambling debts. He was fired by the Dodgers in March, pleaded guilty to bank and tax fraud in June, and now could face up to 33 years in prison.
The federal investigation found Mizuhara controlled Ohtani’s life more than was previously known, having access to his bank account and schedule, and even taking meetings with Ohtani’s agent in his place. Ohtani was found to have no role in the scandal aside from his money being used to pay off debts. Mizuhara will be sentenced in January.
Jontay Porter
In April, NBA commissioner Adam Silver handed down his first player lifetime ban to Jontay Porter. The former Raptor provided injury information to gamblers, bet on NBA games himself, and manipulated his own playing availability for betting purposes. The wagers were made by gamblers to whom Porter owed money due to his own gambling debts. Porter bet on NBA and G League games and bet on his own team to lose.
In July, Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and recently had his sentence postponed from December to May 2025 as he seeks a lighter penalty. In the wake of his ban, the NBA implemented a new rule forbidding sportsbooks from offering under props for players on two-way or 10-day contracts.
Tucupita Marcano
Two months after Porter’s banishment, MLB faced a scandal of its own. Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano received a lifetime ban after it was discovered he placed 387 bets on baseball, including 231 on MLB-related wagers between October 2022 and November 2023, which totaled more than $150,000. He wasn’t very successful, winning less than 5% of all of his MLB-related wagers. Marcano mainly bet on the outcome of games and lost all of his parlays involving the Pirates. MLB found 25 of 231 bets were wagered on the Pirates while Marcano was on the team’s injured list.
In addition to Marcano, MLB also announced one-year suspensions for A’s pitcher Michael Kelly, Padres pitcher Jay Groome, Phillies infielder José Rodríguez, and Diamondbacks pitcher Andrew Saalfrank. Kelly bet on MLB (not involving the A’s) when he was in the minor leagues, while the other three players, all of whom are in the minors, bet on major league games.
Temple Basketball
In March, gambling watchdogs flagged a Temple-UAB men’s basketball game for suspicious gambling activity. U.S. Integrity, a firm that monitors the betting market on unusual line movement, noted the spread moved from around two points to eight before tip-off. It led multiple books to halt waging on the contest. A six-point swing is rare in a college basketball game, especially late in the regular season.
In November, ESPN revealed federal authorities are investigating former Owls guard Hysier Miller for betting on his own games and manipulating the outcome, commonly known as point-shaving. Miller, Temple’s leading scorer in 2023–2024, transferred to Virginia Tech ahead of this season, but he was dismissed from the team before playing in a game due to the federal investigation and NCAA inquiry. The NCAA has been investigating Temple basketball for months on the matter, but it has yet to reveal its findings.
