Topline
Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia have charged close to two dozen bettors and players in an alleged scheme to fix NCAA and Chinese professional basketball games that allegedly spanned years and involved millions in illicit bets, according to court records unsealed Thursday and reviewed by Forbes.
Key Facts
Authorities say gamblers recruited 39 players on more than 17 Division I teams to underperform, placing bets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and wagering millions across at least 29 games.
Defendants include 15 athletes from Division I NCAA schools, and 5 people described by the authorities as “fixers.”
The scheme allegedly involved wire fraud, with fixers allegedly paying college basketball players bribes typically ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 per game to manipulate outcomes.
Former Chicago Bulls player Antonio Blakeney is accused of taking a $200,000 bribe while playing in China and later helping recruit Division I college players from multiple schools into similar schemes.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, the NCAA said it has sent a letter to state gambling commissions reiterating its request for “the elimination of prop bets” and “stricter accountability for bettors found to have harassed student-athletes and/or influenced betting behaviors.”
Tangent
Multiple states, including Maryland, Ohio, Vermont, and Louisiana, have banned or restricted betting on collegiate sports over the past few years in an effort to crack down on corruption. This was in part the result of the NCAA’s own efforts, which date back to 2023. On Thursday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine reaffirmed the decision, saying the news “reinforces that states across the country need to follow Ohio’s lead and heed NCAA President Charlie Baker’s call to ban collegiate prop bets in their states.”
Crucial Quote
“The pattern of college basketball game integrity conduct revealed by law enforcement today is not entirely new information to the NCAA,” said NCAA President Charlie Baker in a statement Thursday morning, referring to the organization’s recent internal crackdown. “The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics.”
Key Background
The indictment comes after a wave of NCAA investigations that resulted in lifetime bans for 11 players this past year over gambling violations, including bets involving their own teams and performances, with the NCAA saying 40 players from 20 schools have been investigated.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinadilicosa/2026/01/15/20-people-charged-in-alleged-scheme-to-fix-college-baseball-games/
