Corruption in sports

Corruption in sports has a well-established track record. Whether it is the FIFA debacle in 2015 or the most recent NBA gambling scandal, numerous high-profile cases stand to exemplify sports' inner failings, with serious ramifications on the integrity of the game.

Public perception of corruption has reached a record proportion, too, with Americans now increasingly likely to believe that sports contests are affected because of the rise of match-fixing scandals and athletes placing bets behind the scenes.

What is corruption in sports?

Defining corruption in sports is a difficult enough task, and it has multiple facets and aspects. To start with, there is no single case of corruption, nor are all incidences of corruption the same.

The 2015 FIFA corruption scandal, for example, is a clear sign of endemic corruption in a sport, and soccer is generally considered among the most corrupt sports.

The scandal revolved around 14 FIFA officials who were accused of bribery, collusion, and money laundering related to the awarding of media rights to specific companies, skipping normal procedures.

Yet, this is not the only high-profile case. An FBI investigation into the NBA has led to the arrests of multiple prominent league insiders, with Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups among those arrested in 2025 and awaiting trial in 2026.

Rozier is accused of leaking inside information to third parties to help them secure betting outcomes. Billups, in the meantime, is alleged to have groomed athletes and brought them to high-stakes poker games run by Mafiosi. The games were rigged, federal prosecutors argued.

Both have pleaded not guilty. Another prominent case names widespread corruption in Süper Lig, the Turkish top-flight soccer league, in which 10 referees bet onmore than 10,000 matches, with hundreds, if not thousands other referees also placing the occasional flutter.

Is fraud in sports popular?

Whether corruption in sports is "popular" is difficult to argue. However, 2025 brought to light many cases of corruption, many of which are tied to the rise and availability of sports gambling.

However, this is not entirely true. In Turkey, for example, sports betting is prohibited, whereas it is legal almost everywhere in the United States. Yet, both countries have had serious corruption probes launched into sports, with dozens of people arrested and pointing to serious integrity flaws.

Quantifying whether corruption has been increasing is difficult to say, although some resources, such as Sportradar and the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA), have been producing consistent reports, suggesting that corruption remains present, while the detection methods have also been improving, leading to more cases caught by investigators.

What we can claim with certainty is that in 2026, the methods of detecting fraud have become more sophisticated. The UFC has recently had a second problematic fight in as many months. The fight was ultimately pulled due to suspicious betting patterns, indicating heightened awareness among sports bodies about the potential of game manipulations happening on their watch.

Who catches corruption in sports?

• IBIA: The International Betting Integrity Association monitors suspicious betting activity through a global network of regulated betting operators. By analysing wagering patterns and sharing intelligence with sports bodies, regulators, and law enforcement, IBIA helps identify potential match-fixing and betting-related corruption. Its alert system has become a key tool in detecting irregular betting behaviour across multiple sports and jurisdictions.
• Integrity Compliance 360: Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) is a sports integrity and risk management company that investigates suspicious activity in sports and betting markets. Using data analytics, compliance monitoring, and investigative expertise, IC360 supports leagues, regulators, and operators in identifying fraud, match manipulation, and insider betting. The organization also provides education and compliance programmes to reduce corruption risks and strengthen governance in professional sports. IC360 notably flagged a recent UFC fight that was pulled.
• Sportradar: Sportradar is a global sports data and integrity company that uses advanced algorithms and real-time betting monitoring to detect suspicious matches and unusual wagering patterns. Through its Integrity Services division, Sportradar collaborates with sports federations, betting operators, and law enforcement agencies to investigate potential corruption. Its large-scale data capabilities make it one of the most influential actors in identifying and preventing match-fixing worldwide.
• US Integrity: US Integrity is a compliance and integrity monitoring company that analyzes data from licensed sportsbooks to identify unusual or unexplained betting patterns. By detecting irregular wagering activity and sharing alerts with sports leagues and regulators, the firm helps uncover potential integrity breaches. US Integrity played a role in flagging suspicious betting linked to Jontay Porter, which contributed to the NBA’s investigation and his subsequent lifetime ban.

What is match-fixing?

Match-fixing is one of the most common types of corruption in modern sports. Essentially, this is an event where an athlete or a team purposefully and knowingly underperforms to secure the outcome of a bet.

Match-fixing is also the result of coordination between gamblers and the athletes who may underperform at specific moments. Take Porter, for example, who exited games on January 26, 2024, and March 20,2024, due to physical illness he reported to his team’s coach.

The Raptors removed him shortly after on March 25, 2024, after it became known that Porter was being investigated for potential match-fixing abuse. Porter essentially exited the games to secure the results of specific markets that were placed on him. Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA on April 17, 2024.

In the course of the investigation, prosecutors and law enforcement discovered that Porter had wagered $54,000 on 13 bets, resulting in $22,000 in net winnings, along with other offenses, including tipping off gamblers.

You can read more about Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA here. However, this is hardly the only instance of match-fixing in the league, with Terry Rozier now facing similar charges, although he has denied culpability.

Do people get sued over match-fixing?

Yes, you absolutely can and most likely will get sued or fined if you are caught attempting to defraud sportsbooks by acting on inside information. The extent and ramifications of the legal action may vary depending on the jurisdiction you are based on but as far as the United States goes, gamblers may end up in serious trouble.

Timothy McCormack was recently handed down a two-year prison sentence due to his role in the Terry Rozier conspiracy. A federal judge found McCormack to have acted on inside information and placed bets on the NBA with the explicit purpose of defrauding sportsbooks.

Will we ever overcome corruption in sports?

Corruption in sports is not going away. While Sportradar has seen a notable decline in match-fixing instances, this is not necessarily in itself an indication that criminals are folding, or that some athletes aren’t trying to skirt the rules. Rather, it is a matter of detection becoming better.

IBIA’s most recent integrity report for 2025 indicated a double-digit rise in the number of reported signals (300) for the 12 months, but this is partly because the association has significantly expanded its reach and monitoring capabilities.

While corruption is unlikely to go away in sports completely, cutting-edge integrity solutions are making it increasingly difficult for bad actors to find and exploit vulnerabilities. Yet, we would be naive to think that the book on sports corruption can be shuttered by just increasing scrutiny - it’s only a part of the solution.

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