Fanatics Sportsbook CEO explains how NBA scandal was caught by legal market

The bomb NBA The scandal that occurred as part of an FBI investigation last week has many questioning the sports betting market, and even the legal side of it.

This was especially the case with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozierwho was among more than two dozen arrests for his role in an FBI sports betting investigation in which he allegedly provided nonpublic information regarding the status of his injury and when he would be out of the game to hit certain bets.

There was a similar situation last season with former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, who was suspended indefinitely from the NBA and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. Porter, who is linked to the current FBI investigation, was previously convicted of disclosing confidential information to sports bettors about his health and betting on games in violation of league rules.

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Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier during the second half against the Washington Wizards on March 31, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)

So, Seeing such a situation happen Perhaps more broadly, Matt King, CEO of Fanatics Betting & Gaming, was “disappointed” to see “criminal elements” playing a role in a market that has grown exponentially as more states legalize it. But given his experience, King explained why he feels this situation proves the legal side of sports betting works.

“If you look at the chronology, the suspicious betting activity was reported immediately, it was reported immediately, and investigations began immediately,” King told Fox News Digital earlier this week. “You had the right people involved. Obviously the patrols were at the front trying to forcefully understand what was going on, but they don’t have subpoena power, so they’re able to see part of it. But everyone worked in cooperation with the FBI, who were able to get subpoena power and really search. In the end, the perpetrators were caught, and I’m confident they will be brought to justice.”

Fanatics Sportsbook is a newer operation and was in the early stages of its development when Rozier was charged with possible betting violations in a game on March 23, 2023. But King’s experience in the industry goes beyond the work he now does with Fanatics Betting & Gaming, where he served as CEO and CFO of FanDuel during the previous years.

Attorney Terry Rozier maintains innocence and says government is ‘making deals with the devil’ for cooperation

So, on the question of the future of sports betting, especially the prop betting market, King offered a perfect analogy.

“This kind of thing is inevitable, and I look at it through the lens of the parallel I’m drawing is the stock market,” he explained. “People have been trading stocks for hundreds of years, and there has always been a risk of insider trading. Therefore, there is a healthy and rigorous regulatory enforcement regime around making sure people don’t trade on insider information. This is no different.”

“I look at it as a great case study of market and regulation, with all industry participants and industry participants working together in concert. I hope the perpetrators will set an example, because the deterrence element is just as important.”

Matthew King, CEO of Fanatics Betting and Gaming, inside the Fanatics Sportsbook at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 14, 2025. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)

King also offered some perspective on how these instances are detected from the beginning, and what an operation like Fanatics Sportsbook does when that flag comes to light when bets start rolling in.

“Oftentimes, the first flag that comes out of suspicious activity is much larger than we expected,” King said of suspicious betting. “This will usually guide and advise you to investigate further. In particular, when you are under [prop bet] Or a low-quality tennis match or something like that that exceeds expectations, the real question is: “Where is this coming from?” Who’s betting? Where do they get this bet from? Is this consistent with their historical betting patterns? Questions like that. We have a lot of analytical resources and a lot of staff who spend time looking at this data and making sure we understand it.

“Now, a lot of times you get a false flag. You dig into it and say, ‘Hey, we didn’t expect this much action on the underdog,’ and it turns out that the famous underdog had a big story on Instagram, and people just accumulate some of the stories that are in sports, which is great.” It’s healthy. So, there are a lot of false flags, but in the end a portion of those flags that are raised turn out to be something suspicious and we report that to the relevant authorities.”

In short, King knows that, like any market forecaster, there will be those who want to gain an advantage. So, the future of betting in any professional sport will have those who try to cheat the system.

However, King feels that the strongest point to make about this alleged criminal activity is that a legal market, coupled with strict regulation and monitoring, can at least reduce the potential for illegality.

A self-service betting kiosk displays odds for an NBA game inside Fanatics Sportsbook on Nov. 23, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

“The most important key point in this conversation is for everyone to understand that sports betting will exist no matter what,” he said. “You can’t show me an era of history, a country in the world, or a sport that’s popular that doesn’t have some level of sports betting. We just have to accept that sports betting is going to exist. It’s simply a question: Do you want this to exist as a legal market or an illegal market?”

“The reality is that this activity was caught because it’s a legal market, because you were able to have a relationship with the leagues and have integrity monitoring services that you can report data on and that people can investigate. If you don’t have legal sports betting, all you’re going to have are illegal markets that don’t have any commitment to integrity or consumer protection, which is the other aspect that you have to remember. If you’re betting on illegal sports betting, they don’t have a requirement or interest in making sure you’re betting within your means or things like that.”

“I see the best thing for the integrity of the game, and the best thing for consumer protection, is a two-pronged strategy of a strong, legal market combined with strict enforcement against the illegal market.”

Fanatics Sportsbook, in addition to providing key responsible gaming tools to consumers, has a unique “Fair Play” policy, which protects bettors from premature player injuries.

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier looks to pass against the Boston Celtics during the second half at Spectrum Center. (Neil Redmond/USA Today Sports)

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Consumer protection addresses those situations where it is clear that key players will be injured, but it also addresses the possibility of something like the Rozier case occurring. Being the team’s starting point guard, Rozier’s backup bets are plentiful every night he’s on the court, but if he leaves early and never returns, Fanatics Sportsbook voids that bet with fair play.

Overall, there is no real way to eliminate the illegal side of sports betting, but operations like Fanatics Sportsbook, and leaders like King, continue to put in place the necessary regulations, technology, and collaborate with leagues to ensure a fair and level playing field for all who want to play.

“We will always be up front with the leagues and regulators to know the right mix of prop bets to offer,” King said. “What I would say, though, is that there is a balance. Because ultimately, if you have a legal market for sports betting, but a market where the regulations have been so stringent in terms of what you can offer that they don’t give consumers what they want, they will then go to the illegal market. You’re undermining the value of having a legal market. So, I look at it as finding the right balance that ensures that we’re able to limit, make logical decisions, but also make something that consumers want.”

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