Eli5: Why are professional athletes typically banned from placing bets that are in favor of their own team/themselves?

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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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Anonymous 0 Comments

Because they still have inside information about their team that other people may not have.

For example, they may know that a star player who is listed as questionable is probably going to play, based on the way practice has been run or catching a conversation.

Also, knowledge of the gameplan may give them a heads-up on yardage prop bets for players on the team. For example, if they know the game plan is to run the ball a lot, they could bet on their running back to get a lot of yards.

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