Cal Thomas: Normalizing a vice

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Thursday, October 30th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says it’s time to do something about sports gambling.

CAL THOMAS: In 2018, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 to strike down a federal law banning sports gambling. That decision permitted individual states to decide whether to allow it, or not. It didn't take a genius to predict what might happen, especially when politicians can find new sources of revenue beyond income, property and sales taxes.

Last week, more than 30 people were indicted as part of a national sports betting scandal involving high-profile figures. FBI Director Kash Patel admitted some will be upset by the arrests:

KASH PATEL: It’s not popular to go after some of the defendants we went after today. But justice is served blindly.

Those defendants include Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier.

Billups was charged in a scheme involving rigged poker games, and Rozier was charged for allegedly providing insider information to an illegal sports betting ring. A former player, Damon Jones, was also indicted for sharing insider information. The FBI said arrests were made in 11 states. New York Police commissioner Jessica Tisch reported that this investigation has been going for quite some time:

TISCH: What we’re announcing today is not just another take down, it’s the result of more than two years of coordinated investigative work by the NYPD joint organized crime taskforce and the FBI.

What may have surprised many were allegations that these schemes are linked to three different Mafia families. Isn't the Mafia the stuff of movies like "Goodfellas" and "The Godfather"? People may have thought crime families had been put out of business years ago by federal agents like Eliot Ness, then leader of a Chicago team known as the "Untouchables" that took on Al Capone.

Three of the five crime families allegedly involved in sports betting and rigged poker games are familiar to people with long memories: the Gambinos, the Bonnanos, and the Genoveses families.

FAN DUEL COMMERCIAL AUDIO

The National Basketball Association, which has Fan Duel and Draft Kings as its "official" sports betting partners, issued a statement following the indictments. It read in part: "We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority."

The "integrity of our game" was the first thing to go. The seven-foot-one analyst and former center Shaquille O'Neal says it will be difficult to get that back.

O’NEAL: All of these guys knew what was at stake. And I’m just ashamed that they put themselves, and put their family, and the NBA in this position.

One wonders how people making millions of dollars would be enticed by offers of a few hundred thousand dollars to do something they had to know was against the law. Perhaps it was the thrill one can get from such behavior. Perhaps it was the instant cash delivered to their doorsteps. Former power forward Charles Barkley is now a sports commentator and FanDuel spokesman. He thinks it was something else.

CHARLES BARKLEY: This ain’t got nothing to do with addiction. These dudes are stupid.

Not all vices can be regulated. Prohibition is usually presented as the worst example. While not everyone conforms to every law, it sets a standard which tells people what history and societies have shown is best for them and the nation.

Gamblers, like the poor, we have always had with us, but when gambling becomes the norm…and especially when it is advertised during breaks in NBA and NFL games…it sends a message that this vice is acceptable, even recommended. Changing its name to "gaming" doesn’t help. Neither does the on screen “Gambling Problem?” message for those who can't afford to lose the rent or food money.

Cincinnati Reds star player Pete Rose was banned from baseball in 1989 for betting on games when he managed the club. After denying the allegation for years, Rose eventually admitted the charge which ended his eligibility for Hall of Fame consideration. A special committee is meeting in December 2027 to re-consider the ban.

In today’s climate, Rose may finally be granted admission to Cooperstown. But given the scandal involving the NBA, with possibly more indictments to come, Congress needs to step in and consider more regulation of the gambling industry. Legislation that could pass Supreme Court muster. But I wonder what the odds are of that happening?

I’m Cal Thomas.

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