Top 5 Biggest Scandals in Sports Betting History

Sports betting is a game of skill, luck and trust. But sometimes, the trust is broken by those who have the power. From rings to fields, from courts to screens, these scandals have revealed the dark side of sports betting and left bettors feeling outraged. Here are the top 5 cases of sports betting scandals.

The Punch that Wasn’t

Muhammad Ali pulled off a huge upset when he KO’d Sonny Liston in the 7th round to win the heavyweight belt in Miami. But the Feds smelled something fishy and thought the fight was fixed by a Vegas bookmaker, Ash Resnick, who had ties to Liston and cashed over $1m by fading him. Resnick tipped off a buddy not to back Liston, saying he’d see why when he watched the fight. Liston threw in the towel, saying his shoulder was busted, but some folks weren’t buying it.

They suspected that Ali had landed a phantom punch that barely grazed Liston’s chin, and that Liston had taken a dive on purpose.

The Goodfellas Fix

In 1978-79, a group of mobsters led by Henry Hill (the inspiration for the movie Goodfellas) bribed 6 Boston College men’s basketball players to manipulate the handicaps of 9 games. The scheme was exposed by an FBI investigation that revealed confessions from the players and the gamblers. The scandal rocked the college basketball world and led to the expulsion of the players and the resignation of head coach Chuck Daly. 

✅ It also inspired a book and a film called The Big Heist.

Henry Hill

The «Calciopoli»

A cop bust revealed that several top Italian soccer clubs, including Juventus, Milan, and Lazio, had been manipulating the odds in Serie A and Serie B. The clubs were nailed on phone calls with refs and league officials, asking for friendly refs or pressuring them to tilt the games their way. The scandal stained Italian football and led to tough sanctions for the clubs, such as relegation, and fines. Some club execs like Luciano Moggi and refs like Massimo De Santis were also banned.

Massimo De Santis

The Horse Hustle

A betting syndicate headed by John Gillespie pulled a switcheroo by swapping a horse named Bold Personality for Fine Cotton, a scrub they had in a restricted race at Eagle Farm. They bet heavily on Fine Cotton, looking to score big on its long shot. Bold Personality crossed the line first, but the stewards spotted its shoddy makeover and DQ’d it. The crew lost their bets and faced charges of fraud and conspiracy. The scam was later made into a movie called Horseplay.

Bold Personality

How a $322 Bet Turned into Dota 2’s Biggest Meme

The Russian Dota 2 pro Alexey “Solo” Berezin bet only $322 against his own team, RoX.KIS, in a StarLadder match versus zRage, an underdog. He then threw the game on purpose, looking to cash in on the bet. But he was busted and outed by a betting site that spotted his shady moves. As a result, he was banned for life by StarLadder. The number 322 became a meme for throwing games in Dota 2.

Now the term 322 is a game that casts doubt on its results.