The federal investigation into sports gambling’s growing influence on professional basketball has taken another major turn, with former NBA players Malik Beasley and Ed Davis now facing serious criminal charges.
Federal prosecutors have indicted Beasley and Davis in connection with an alleged betting scheme centered on player prop wagers during the 2023-24 NBA season. According to the indictment, Beasley—who was with the Milwaukee Bucks at the time—is accused of intentionally manipulating aspects of his individual statistical performance to benefit bettors with advance knowledge of the alleged scheme.
Prosecutors claim Davis, who retired from the NBA in 2022 after a 13-year career, helped facilitate the operation by providing Beasley with loans after the guard reportedly accumulated substantial gambling debts. In return, authorities allege Beasley accepted bribes that helped satisfy those debts while co-conspirators placed wagers on his individual props, including points and rebounds.
Rather than alleging games were intentionally thrown, the government’s case focuses on player prop betting, which has become one of the fastest-growing segments of legalized sports wagering. Investigators contend bettors used inside information to place wagers worth hundreds of thousands of dollars based on Beasley’s anticipated statistical output.
According to court filings, one of the alleged betting plans reportedly backfired when Beasley exceeded the targeted rebounding total during a March 2024 game against the Brooklyn Nets, resulting in losing wagers.
“Bribery and insider betting schemes like this one involving former NBA players… who exploited inside NBA information for profit erode the integrity of American sports and victimize the sports-watching public,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in announcing the indictment.
Beasley, Davis, and four additional defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery in sporting contests, honest services wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy.
Davis was taken into federal custody following the indictment, while Beasley was not reported to be in custody as of Monday. Attorneys representing the former NBA players had not publicly responded to the charges at the time of publication.
The case marks the latest development in the federal government’s widening crackdown on sports gambling involving professional athletes, as authorities continue to scrutinize the integrity of player prop betting across major sports.