Bets made by players and bets made by referees, team staff, and league officials provide valuable information to bookmakers.
As a result, they are given preferential treatment, especially if they have a winning pattern.
Most bookmakers will cut off an ordinary bettor who wins, but a player who wins is a prized asset.
Most sensible professional athletes deal with highly discreet professional gamblers who pass the information along to large bookmakers.
Those who are caught usually deal with untrustworthy middlemen, such as relatives and friends.
Many newcomers wonder if professional athletes can bet on themselves as professional sports betting becomes more popular as a pastime.
In short, professional athletes are not permitted to bet on themselves or the games they participate in. However, such laws frequently contain gray areas that allow players to bet on themselves in some games but not in others.
Each jurisdiction’s laws regulate legal sports betting in that state, county, or city. These laws’ regulations are also difficult to enforce in every situation.
To the embarrassment of sports fans everywhere, this means players frequently bet on themselves.
Please continue reading to learn more about how athletes bet on themselves and the consequences they may bear.
Is it Legal for a Professional Athlete to Bet on Sports?
Several examples of athletes gambling can be found throughout history, such as the 1919 World Series or Pete Rose betting on his team’s games while managing the Reds.
It should come as no surprise that there are sports gamblers.
Gambling is a natural activity for someone competitive, and most athletes are competitive.
The NBA and NFL go to great lengths and spend a lot of money to indoctrinate their players in all of the dos and don’ts of being a well-paid public figure.
Gambling on your own sport is one of the biggest no-nos.
It devalues the leagues, the players, the spirit of competition, and the value of the entertainment they provide.
I believe that most players are aware of this and want to preserve the competitive spirit.
Of course, this does not rule out the possibility of athletes gambling, particularly in their own sport, but it would not surprise me if they did.
So, if anyone bets on their own sport, it would have to be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
Playing a sport does not necessarily give you a leg up on a “professional gambler” when it comes to betting on that sport. Athletes may better understand their opponents, but the available stats usually reveal about the same amount to anyone who wants to know.
It’s still gambling at the end of the day. Injuries and unexpected standout performances by certain players are impossible to predict.
A professional athlete is not permitted to wager on any league event or outcome in most cases, but this will also depend on state sports betting laws.
Taking a look at the rules on the Indiana Gaming Commission’s website (the governing body in charge of establishing and enforcing sports betting laws in Indiana), it’s clear that no player under contract, nor his relatives) can bet on their sport.
This includes officials, managers, coaches, and other team members who are governed by a sports governing body.
The specific laws vary by state, but a professional athlete is usually allowed to bet on a sport as long as it is not one in which they participate.
Sports betting is enjoyable, and you can’t expect those who participate in the game to be excluded!
This means that if you’re an NBA player, you can’t bet on anything related to the NBA, but you can still enjoy betting on football, golf, and even soccer.
This law does not only apply to team members; managers, officials such as referees, and coaches are also prohibited from betting on the sport for which they work.
This is to prevent them from influencing the game in an official capacity in order to influence the outcome of their wager.
How Can We Tell If Professional Athletes Are Betting Illegally?
Even though more states have legalized sports betting, the illegal sports bookie still exists.
It’s much more common to use an “agent” to act as a middleman than for an athlete to risk making these bets themselves.
Relatives living with the athlete are not allowed to bet either, as we saw with the Indiana laws.
It’s not uncommon to see these “agents” placing bets and collecting on behalf of others.
This is common among sports bettors who spend their days in sportsbooks and form friendships with fellow bettors.
According to my firsthand knowledge, many well-known former athletes use “agents” to make their betting more convenient and anonymous.
Many people are unaware that states require personal information once their betting/winnings reach a certain level.
People are usually scared off at this point and reveal that the bets they’ve been placing and cashing out are for someone else.
Although this isn’t illegal, it frequently exposes the true source of funds.
If a professional athlete were to be caught doing this, it would undoubtedly make international headlines.
How Do Sportsbooks Keep Athletes From Betting on Their Own Performances?
When you place a bet on a sportsbook, you must provide identification.
They run this ID through a system that determines whether or not you are allowed to bet on the sport.
Many online sportsbooks have account verification requirements that prevent players from betting on themselves.
However, this raises an interesting point: many anonymous betting sites do not require identification, especially if the bet is made in Bitcoin, allowing players to bet on themselves anonymously.
Not only that but there is nothing in place to prevent a player in any sport from going to an illegal bookie, who will place bets on anyone as long as they get a cut.
As a result, while official sportsbooks can prevent athletes from placing wagers on their sport, there is nothing stopping players from placing wagers on themselves online or with an unauthorized bookmaker.
Is It Allowed for Players to Bet On Themselves In Any Sports?
Several sports allow players to bet on themselves, though the laws vary widely depending on the state and country in which the bet is placed.
Typically, these are individual sports in which the player has no control over the game’s outcome other than to play to their best ability.
Tennis, golf, and boxing are three of these sports.
This is still considered illegal and unethical in many parts of the United States.
As a result, many athletes bet on themselves while playing overseas or in another country where the practice is legal.
That isn’t to say it isn’t against the team’s rules or their employment contract; however, this is a private matter between them and their sponsors.
Why Can’t an Athlete Put His or Her Money On Themselves?
As a result, other roads for corruption would open up, without a doubt.
A starting pitcher who regularly bets $10,000 on his starts decides not to bet or lowers his wager to $1,000 against a specific opponent sends a message to not only the sportsbook staff, operators, and other sportsbook guests but also to others on his team and league, which could influence the game’s outcome.
Evander Kane is a hockey player for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, and on August 1st, 2021, he was accused of betting on games he was playing and then specifically trying to lose those games to get paid.
The accusation, however, came from his wife, and the allegations are still being investigated.
Kane’s wife claims that the player places bets on the teams he plays against with illegal bookies.
And, upon further investigation, Kane’s bankruptcy filing in January 2021, claiming over $26.8 million in debt, appears to be highly suspicious.
In the first quarter of this year, he was also served with a lawsuit seeking $15 million in damages.
The NHL has now launched a full investigation into the allegations, but no solution or evidence against the player has yet been discovered.
What Happens When a Player Places a Self-Bet?
There are numerous illegal ways for an athlete to bet on himself, as has already been established.
But what happens if they are apprehended?
This varies greatly depending on the team and their contract, but the result can be disastrous for their entire livelihood.
Most athletes are deterred from even trying because they will lose their job and, most likely, their credibility.
However, in 1989, MLB player Peter Edward Rose, who later became the manager of the Cincinnati Reds, was accused of betting on the game.
Despite his denials, enough evidence was discovered to permanently ban Rose from any job involving sports.
Several interviews with Rose’s associates, including illegal bookies, were part of the evidence.
Although the investigation’s findings were officially labeled “inconclusive,” many believe Rose accepted the permanent ban willingly to save face in the event of a court conviction.
To this day, he maintains his innocence.
To summarize, it is extremely illegal for athletes to bet on themselves, but that does not mean it doesn’t happen.
And in today’s world of the internet, it’s more than likely that it does happen and that people are simply unaware of it.