How Games Are Fixed

With the rise of sports betting over the last decade, the once taboo subject has now gone legit. There are 38 states in the U.S. that now offer some form of legal sports gambling. Millions upon millions of sports bettors enter the market on any given day and place wagers point spreads, totals, props, and more. Sports betting has almost become so commonplace nowadays that we forget about its troubled past.

We also may not realize that any game could be “fixed” or rigged to end in someone’s favor. That’s what happened in probably the most famous of all sports betting scandals – the Black Sox Scandal in 1919. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox conspired with a gambling syndicate to influence the outcome of the 1919 World Series. All eight players, including Shoeless Joe Jackson, were banned from baseball as a result.

But, that couldn’t happen again could it? Well, despite increased awareness and a number of rules in place, anything is possible. How could it be done?

Game Fixing

It goes by a bunch of different names, but essentially “fixing” a game is one in which a player or even an official intends to achieve a predetermined result. The player or official uses his (or her) position to influence the outcome which results in financial gain in the sports betting markets. This, of course, is illegal and violates the rules of the sport.

The most recent example of such game fixing came in the early 2000s when NBA official Tim Donaghy was found to have used his position to bet on NBA games. He was able to directly influence games that he officiated, but he also used his knowledge and contacts to bet on other NBA games as well. Donaghy ultimately pled guilty to two federal charges and was sentenced to 15 months in prison. 

Point Shaving

There are a number of examples of point shaving, which is an attempt to influence the final score of a game without affecting the outcome. Bettors, of course, can bet on game totals and, nowadays, on a variety of team and player props.

In the late 1970s, there was a point shaving scandal involving the Boston College basketball program. Basketball is probably the easiest sport in which to shave points. There is typically a lot of scoring and a single player can influence a final score. In the 1978-79 college basketball season, a couple small-time gamblers from Pittsburgh saw an opportunity at B.C.

One of their friends was a player at B.C. The deal was simple. The gamblers paid their friend (and other players they recruited) to influence the final score. If Boston College was a seven-point favorite, for example, the gamblers would pay their “fixers” if the Eagles won by six or less. The scheme was eventually discovered.

Just last year, Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for his role in “fixing” games. One of the big things in sports betting these days is player props. Porter would advise gamblers to bet on the Under on many of his player props. He did so in one game in particular where a bettor wagered $80K on a parlay that included the Under on some of Porter’s props. Porter removed himself from the game citing an illness. The incident was investigated and Porter is no longer an NBA player.

Tanking

Tanking isn’t really the same as fixing games, but tanking, or losing purposely, happens in all sports. Tanking is why the NBA and NHL have draft lotteries. The team that finishes with the worst record in either league isn’t always rewarded with the first pick in the following year’s draft. Teams can’t simply lose on purpose in an effort to gain the No. 1 overall pick. 

Tanking still happens though and bettors can use it to their advantage. How about the 2006 Winter Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament? Sweden played Slovakia in the final game of Pool B play. Sweden’s head coach actually made public comments about tanking against Slovakia.

If Sweden won, they would face 2002 gold medalist Canada. During the game with Slovakia, Sweden had a 5-on-3 power play that featured five NHL stars on the ice at the same time. They didn’t take one shot on goal. The Swedes would lose 3-0, go on to play Switzerland in the quarterfinals. Canada would lose to Russia and Sweden would eventually win the gold medal. You can all argue with each other about whether the Sweden-Slovakia game was “fixed.”

It Still Happens

If you were going to fix a MLB game and lose on purpose, one of the best ways to do it would be to keep your best players on the bench. In 2010, that’s exactly what the New York Yankees did at the end of the season. The Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays were in a tight race for the AL East title. Both teams had clinched a wild card, so they were in the playoffs no matter what.

The Yankees would rest many of their stars and go 3-7 over their final 10 games. The Rays would win their final regular season game to capture the division. That meant the Yankees would not have to play the Texas Rangers in the first round of the playoffs. 

The Rays would lose to the Rangers in the first round. The Yankees got a much easier opponent in Minnesota. New York actually swept the Twins 3-0 and moved on to the AL Championship series. They would eventually lose to the Rangers, but it could be argued that the Yankees “threw” most of those last ten games of the season in order to get a more favorable opponent.

What’s Next

Despite all of the rules and laws in place, there is a ton of money out there in the sports betting world. With the lure of riches, there will almost always be attempts to “beat the system.” All professional sports leagues as well as the NCAA which governs college sports have rules in place to protect against fixing games. It’s still bound to happen though. 

The most likely betting scandals to happen next are probably going to occur in Canada. It’s a nation of only about 39 million people, but Canadians legally wager about $20 billion per year. And, guess what? What Porter did with his prop bets is technically not illegal in Canada. Canadian sports gambling laws are some of the most archaic in the world. 

Without any clear cut laws or more regulated betting activity, Canada is primed for the next major sports betting scandal. As long as money is involved, we’ll probably see others pop up around the world too.

See Also:

Are NFL Games Fixed?

Former Vanderbilt QB Claims He Was Approached by Mobsters to Rig Games