Sports agent and media analyst Doug Eldridge warned Saturday on Newsmax that the explosive growth of sports betting poses a growing integrity threat to professional and even younger athletes, as federal prosecutors move forward with criminal cases tied to an alleged multimillion-dollar NBA gambling operation.
Eldridge appeared on “Saturday Report” and said the industry’s growth is creating real exposure.
“Sports betting in the United States generated $13.7 billion in revenue last year. That was a 25% hike from the previous year,” he said. He added that, structurally, “when you have a $13 billion industry that’s increasing 25% per year, it’s effectively illegal in three-quarters of the states. There’s always going to be that temptation.”
The warning came just days after the FBI and federal prosecutors announced indictments against more than 30 individuals, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, in connection with alleged illegal beting and influence operations.
For Eldridge, the issue is not limited to criminal conduct but to a failure of financial discipline among emerging or young players.
“The average career is three and a half years, right? You don’t make $1 million base salary until 10 years in the league,” he said. Because of that compressed window, “your primary focus needs to be on being healthy, getting on the field and saving every penny you make, not wasting dollars on gambling.”
He called the current scandal “almost a cautionary tale and really almost a case study, a teachable lesson” for the athletes he represents. Eldridge said the obligation of prevention is shared.
“The obligation and the onus is incumbent upon not just the players, but their core set of advisors to keep them away from the rumble strips, let alone the guardrails, because on the other side is the ditch below.”
Asked whether athletes currently receive gambling education, Eldridge pointed to the rapid shift caused by NIL [Name, Image, and Likeness] freedoms at the college level, where “college kids can now do effectively marketing or endorsement deals.”
“When athletes enter the league … that transition from the collegiate landscape … is a steep learning curve and a very short runway given the scope of their career,” he said. He tells his clients plainly: “You work so hard to make a dollar, why would you blow ten?”
Eldridge stressed that the urgency extends to children who have already internalized sports celebrity culture.
“You have to understand it starts long before college … I was on the field coaching my son's Little League game this morning, those guys were eight years old, and they were all talking about the World Series and which player they were going to be when they made it [to the] Pros. This is culturally driven.”
“It's not about the wrongdoings of individuals, it's about the lure of the industry,” he said.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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