I understand why you would not want athletes to throw games on purpose if they place a large bet for the opposing team to win, however let’s say I am a pitcher in baseball, and I place a bet for my own team to win, wouldn’t that only motivate me to play better because I stand to win more money by doing so?
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Pro athletes (and coaches, training staff, management, etc) all have inside knowledge that is not known to the general public.
For example: The quarterback has missed practice all week because of a sore hamstring. The team lists him on the injury report as “Questionable” for the next game. But you – as a player or coach or other employee of the team – *know* that the QB is going to play and that the injury is very minor.
Since the injury report lists him as questionable, the sports betting people may have your team as the underdog going into the game. You place a bet on your team to win against those long odds because you know the QB is playing.
On top of that, when you place that bet *for* your team, the bookies are going to take that as a sign that you know something they don’t….like the QB being able to play. Now they adjust the lines so that other gamblers don’t wager large sums of money on a long shot that isn’t actually a long shot.
In the end, it all comes down to maintaining the integrity of the league. When you have people within the league placing bets on the league, it takes away from the authenticity of what is happening on the field.
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