Every seasoned bettor knows that the world of sports has always had room for point-shaving controversies that have shocked millions of fans. The basic idea of this match-fixing technique is that gamblers can change the point spread during matches in their favor by interacting with greedy players. And although such incidents become public in most cases, many bettors have tried to manipulate games through point shaving in modern sports history. That being said, let us discuss five shocking scandals that have revolved around this match-fixing method.
CCNY scandal
Despite being the most discussed college basketball team in the US in 1950, CCNY didn’t avoid a miserable fate. The following year, Jack Byrnes and Henry Poppe who played for the team made a deal with three fraudulent bookmakers and were arrested. As it turned out, betting companies offered bribes to the basketball players for point-shaving in their next three matches. But when the mentioned players told their teammate Julius Kellogg about the upcoming plan, he decided to inform the school officials about it.
John Williams’ case
John “Hot Rod” Williams is a fairly well-known NBA veteran who has been in the league for 13 years. And yet, few people know that he participated in the point-shaving scheme in 1985. Back then, he and four other players received $17 000 each to manipulate the point spread in two matches. When the truth was revealed, Williams found himself in the middle of the trial. Nonetheless, after the second trial, he was acquitted of all charges.
Toledo’s dishonest athletes
Even though three American football players and four basketball athletes had successfully implemented point-shaving schemes for more than three years, their “success story” ended in 2009. During the trial, the Rockets’ running back Quinton Broussard admitted that he intentionally played badly to affect the result of the 2005 GMAC Bowl. When it was all said and done, all players involved received probation due to effective cooperation with the authorities.
The cheaters from Sheffield
This soccer scandal happened a long time ago, in the 1960s. Jimmy Gauld, who was a former professional player, invited 32 athletes to manipulate games. Athletes agreed and began to adjust the score in the games so that their bets were winning. This continued until 1964 when all soccer players were accused of match-fixing. Some of them admitted that they received bribes to throw meaningful games. Therefore, the entire fraudulent group received a fair punishment.
The biggest cheating scandal in cricket
Although most people perceive cricket as a gentleman’s game, Hansie Cronjie certainly had a different opinion in this regard. This athlete was discussing games that he threw for bribes with an established bookmaker in 2000, and the Delhi Police intercepted the conversation. Eventually, Hansie confessed to his dishonest actions and implicated three more players in this shocking scandal. All four athletes were banned from competitive cricket forever thereafter.
