ESPN is shutting down its online sportsbook ESPN Bet by December 2025 following a partnership with Penn Entertainment, which will rebrand it as theScore Bet amid ongoing NBA gambling scandals and legal issues involving NBA players. The deal, worth $150 million annually, was terminated early, and ESPN is exploring other media opportunities, while Penn shifts focus to its iCasino business and rebranding efforts.
Terry Rozier faces an $8 million IRS tax lien and is implicated in an NBA sports betting scheme involving illegal betting, conspiracy, and misuse of non-public information, with allegations including pulling out of games to influence bets and threatening players.
Decades after a major crackdown, the New York Mafia remains active, notably involved in a sophisticated NBA-related gambling scam that rigged high-stakes poker games using advanced technology and mob muscle to collect debts, highlighting their ongoing influence in organized crime despite reduced visibility.
Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat has been placed on indefinite leave following his arrest related to a gambling scheme, leading the team to support him while they navigate the situation and focus on upcoming games.
Nearly 1.5 million federal workers are unpaid due to the government shutdown, while NBA players are arrested in a gambling scandal involving leaked non-public information. The US imposes new sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, and chess grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik faces cheating allegations. Additionally, Ukrainians adapt to war sounds through a youth orchestra creating a sonic poem.
