Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova What to Make of the NBA Sports Betting Scandal
19 snips
Nov 1, 2025 Recent federal indictments have sent shockwaves through the NBA and underground poker scenes, revealing high-stakes cheating scandals. The discussion dives into specific allegations of insider information being leaked by players and connections to organized crime in rigged poker games. The conversation also highlights the vulnerabilities of basketball and tennis to manipulation, the motives behind why individuals risk cheating, and the role of sportsbooks in fraud detection. Proposed reforms aim to safeguard the integrity of sports and restore public trust.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
AI Helped Rebook A Delayed Flight
- Nate described using AI (ChatGPT and Claude) to estimate the chance his delayed flight would depart tonight.
- That advice led him to deplane and rebook, avoiding a longer delay and long lines.
Prop Bets Turn Teams Into Individuals
- Prop bets turn team sports into effectively individual contests and increase vulnerability to manipulation.
- Terry Rozier and others allegedly exploited that shift to influence betting outcomes on obscure player props.
Rake Makes Home Games Illegal
- Raking private poker games converts otherwise-legal home games into illegal operations.
- The indictment alleges underground games used sophisticated cheating and mafia involvement to extract over $7 million.