A wave of athlete gambling scandals has sparked growing concern among fans and league officials that betting is undermining public trust in the integrity of professional sport in the US. Each of the four major American leagues – the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL – has investigated personnel for suspicious betting activity in the past year, prompting comparisons with scripted entertainment like WWE and fears that sceptical fans could ultimately erode the value of lucrative media rights deals.

Polling underscores the scale of the unease: 70 percent of Americans believe betting "lessens the integrity of the game," according to an NBC News survey, while an Ipsos poll found almost half fear games are "rigged". In response, monitoring firms such as Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) have emerged to flag suspicious wagering patterns, working with organisations including the UFC, PGA Tour and NCAA, and offering tools such as ProhiBet to share lists of banned bettors with sportsbooks. Concerns are particularly acute around prop betting on individual in-game events, which has grown alongside prediction markets, though determined individuals can still circumvent safeguards via offshore books or proxy bettors.