Newton's Third Law And Gambling

Newton’s third law of motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” But does that hold true in the gambling world, where overreaction is the norm?

Newton’s third law of motion states, “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” But that law doesn’t hold true in the gambling world. In gambling, “For every action, there is an unequal and opposite overreaction.”

Given the current sports betting scandals, including two very mainstream stories involving MLB megastar Shohei Ohtani and now-former NBA bench player Jontay Porter, we are about to find out if the fallout will be an equal and opposite reaction or an unequal overreaction. My money is on the latter.

---

SPONSOR’S MESSAGE - Sporttrade was borne out of the belief that the golden age of sports betting has yet to come. Combining proprietary technology, thoughtful design, and capital markets expertise, our platform endeavors to modernize sports betting for a more equitable, responsible, and accessible future.

Learn more about what makes Sporttrade an unparalleled player experience here.

---

There Is Fire  

If you’ve been living under a rock, here is a brief explanation of the Shohei Ohtani and Jontay Porter cases and, just for good measure, the match-fixing rumors swirling around the Temple Men’s Basketball Team.

Ohtani’s longtime friend and interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, allegedly stole $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to cover gambling losses that spanned back to 2021. Per reports, Mizuhara had a net loss of more than $40 million. Ohtani has denied any wrongdoing; Mizuhara is scheduled to be arraigned on May 9 and could face as much as 30 years in prison.

The Jontay Porter case is far more troubling. Not only was Porter betting millions (through legal channels), but he is accused of disclosing confidential information to sports bettors. The NBA investigation determined Porter provided a known NBA bettor with inside information (his health), and the bettor placed an $80,000 parlay bet (to win $1.1 million) on Porter unders.

Per the AP:

“Porter took himself out of that game after less than three minutes, claiming illness, none of his stats meeting the totals set in the parlay. The $80,000 bet was frozen and not paid out, the league said, and the NBA started an investigation not long afterward.”

And then there is Temple Basketball. Unusual line movement (a 6.5 swing at one sportsbook) led U.S. Integrity to flag a March 7 game between the Temple University Owls and the University of Alabama-Birmingham Blazers.

“That doesn’t happen in March without injury or suspension,” Rex Beyers, the former US Head of Wagering at PlayUp, told Sports Handle.

And per SI.com, “A source in the gambling space says U.S. Integrity has been monitoring Temple games for a while.”

All that said, Temple Basketball, Ohtani, and Porter weren’t the first signs of trouble. If you’ve been paying attention, the writing has been on the wall.  

Where There Is Smoke…

As I wrote in an April 1 newsletter, scandals, and black eyes are becoming all too common. In addition to the recent misconduct outlined above, there was the Jaguars employee who stole $21 million, suspended NFL players, Alabama Baseball, and Iowa and Iowa St. student athlete betting.

And then there are responsible and problem gambling concerns, athlete and coach harassment, and missteps by operators: DraftKings’ failure to prevent Massachusetts customers from funding their accounts with credit cards, BetMGM accepting 15,000 prohibited wagers, and more than $1 million in advertising-related fines in Ohio.

What Happens Now?