Around 50% Of Fans Think the NBA Is the Most Rigged Sport
The FBI is currently probing alleged NBA betting irregularities. New data from Doc’s Sports’ 2025 Sports Betting Survey reveals over half of sports fans (50.7%) believe the NBA is the most “rigged” sport — more than any other major league. But there’s more to the FBI’s current probe than meets the eye. Read on for further details to make an informed decision.
NBA is the Most Rigged Sport, According To Around Half of Fans
Raphael Esparza, a longtime oddsmaker, sports analyst at Doc’s Sports, and former sportsbook director at Aria in Las Vegas, said the public has it backward: “The sportsbooks are actually the victim here. These cases are about player props, not fixing games — but social media tends to blur that distinction.”
Esparza, who witnessed athletes putting in sports wagers during his time in Las Vegas, said the FBI’s press conference has been widely misinterpreted: “If you actually watched it, they didn’t mention fixing games once. It was props. Props. Props. That’s a very different conversation.”
He added: “People hear ‘millions’ and think sportsbooks lost that on NBA games — but in reality, most books were down less than $200,000. The poker side was where the real money moved.”
NBA’s Outlook Amid Most Rigged Sport Claims
The NBA’s outlook amid widespread concerns about being the most rigged sport appears to be a mixed bag. The NBA ranked the highest amid the most rigged sports claims, with 410 survey respondents in Doc’s Sports’ Survey saying the NBA. The NFL trailed the NBA with 362. Other professional sports leagues showed less suspicion from sports fans. The “Other Sports” category totaled 212, while the NCAA had 124, and the MLB rounded out the top five categories with just 102.
Final Thoughts
The results of the survey showed that the perception of game manipulation is highest in the major United States professional sports leagues, particularly the NBA and NFL, due to the highest betting volume and media exposure. Esparza said: “People blame it on the sportsbooks, but if it weren’t for them, none of this would’ve come to light.”
Esparza added, “We don’t need to end sportsbook marketing, but we do need to scale it back and rethink how it’s done.” Esparza’s statement makes a good point. Like many other experts, the longtime oddsmaker suggests that most integrity breaches stem from individual player prop bets and not systemic game-fixing. To wrap everything up, 986 active United States-based sports bettors were surveyed by Doc’s Sports between September and October 2025. Of those, 808 survey respondents answered in the multiple-choice format.
