Records show gambling 'syndicate' targeted NCAA basketball

[Bluehorseshoe]

Sportsbooks flagged dozens of suspicious bets made by gamblers repeatedly wagering against the same small-conference teams in at least 11 men's college basketball games over six weeks last season, documents obtained by ESPN show.

As the NCAA and federal authorities investigate alleged point-shaving in college basketball, the documents reveal new details about the behavior of an alleged gambling syndicate and the games that suspected members targeted between Dec. 1, 2024, and mid-January 2025. ESPN obtained the documents in a public records request.

At least nine sportsbooks in 13 states and one Canadian province detected similar unusual betting activity, according to an email sent by IC360, a firm that monitors the betting market for abnormalities. The gamblers kept betting big against the same teams and winning.

In some cases, customers opened new sportsbook accounts or reemerged after weeks of inactivity to place larger-than-normal or multiple consecutive wagers on the first-half spreads of games, the records show.

Sportsbooks reported seeing similar betting activity on first-half spreads in the 2023-24 college basketball season and believed these bets were connected to the same gambling syndicate, according to the records and a source with direct knowledge.

One sportsbook wrote in the documents that several bettors had potential links to the syndicate and referenced Marves Fairley, a Mississippi man who sells betting picks online, as "the main syndicate suspect." When reached by ESPN, Fairley denied any involvement.



Multiple sources familiar with the federal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania told ESPN that the FBI has been interviewing college athletes and believe indictments are forthcoming. The sources said they have seen evidence of plots to fix college basketball games.

A spokesperson for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania declined comment.

It is not clear if the syndicate is behind all the suspicious bets flagged in the documents, but the games mentioned involve five of the six schools where the NCAA says 13 former players are under investigation for participating in gambling schemes: Eastern Michigan, Temple, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T and Mississippi Valley State.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/46607545/records-gambling-syndicate-ncaa-basketball-suspicious-bets

[stevenash]

Shocker!

A MAC team under investigation for gambling?
The hell you say?

[ChuckyTheGoat]

I've often wondered about this. How much would it cost to buy a player?

[djefferis]

I completely believe it - but how organized can these guys be if they are betting $200 tickets - even 10x ?

And why even play at regulated books - knowing they are highly monitored and hyper sensitive to the action ? Why not simply target 10-20 games - making a coordinated hit offshore at the big boy books for 10-20k bets with 20-40 accounts - disguising the action by making similar bets on other games and playing the opposite side elsewhere to eliminate most of the risk.

In theory - a well ran syndicate could easily take offshore for 300k a game with no one being any wiser - figure 10k in expenses and paying off a couple of kids 10k each - still a lot of cash to be made and way less risky.

The moment you let your circle get too big and have dumbasses walking into a racino trying to lay 50k on some game that attracts 1/10 that action normally - your done.

Look at horse racing a few years ago - was it Prarie Meadows ? Can’t recall the tracks but they were small - guys pumping a ton into long shots to push the payout on faves to exorbitant amounts - and when the fave won - they held huge tickets at offshore shops who don’t participate in the pool/payout calculations. Of course being such a small handle - it was easy to inflate payouts with even a 5k wager placed - and it took offshore YEARS to catch on because the racinos didn’t care - it was good for business at a time where they were struggling to survive.

[ChuckyTheGoat]

Djeff, that's a great post. I always wondered about the parimutuel boards at small tracks. If offshores are paying track odds, that's off-the-radar on the pools.

I think back to the Hong Kong horse-racing pools. The size of the pools were massive. If it's 90% square action, there have to be holes.

I think back to the Ariz St fixed games with Hedake Smith. They almost got away with it. The covers were subtle. Read some of the stories on gameday before Ariz St vs Washington. They got too greedy. They were trying to clear out The Strip.