CULTURE

Footer Column 2

Footer Legal

Footer Main

Nav Bar

OTHER

SPORTS

Subscribe, at any level, to play

Thanks for your interest in Defector Crosswords!

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

Plans start at $8/month.

Subscribers enjoy unlimited, ad-free browsing.

Register to continue

Or click here to subscribe for unlimited, ad-free access!

Our gift to you: This year's post is unlocked. Register your email to get even more free articles.

Welcome to the 2025 Hater's Guide!

Just register your email:

This blog is free to read.

This is Defector, a new sports blog and media company. We made this place together, we own it together, we run it together. Without access, without favor, without discretion, and without interference.

Defector

<p>Columnist. Author of many <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Drew-Magary/e/B001JS8R52/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_book_1">fine works of literature</a>, including <em>Point B</em>. Handsomest man in the world.</p>


Drew Magary

Funbag

There Are More Brendan Sorsbys To Come


<p>Diana Moskovitz is Defector&#8217;s investigations editor. You can contact her at diana@defector.com or dfmoskovitz@protonmail.com. She&#8217;s also on Signal @dmoskovitz.99</p>


Diana Moskovitz

Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones leaves the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York on April 28, 2026. He wore a black suit and has several news photographers around him.

Prosecutors Got A Guilty Plea In The NBA Gambling Case

Patrick Redford

FBI Director Kash Patel leads news conference to announce arrests tied to illegal sports betting and poker game schemes, in New York City on October 23, 2025. NBA coach Chauncey Billups of the Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were arrested on Thursday for alleged involvement in illegal gambling. Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and member of the NBA Hall of Fame, was arrested in connection with rigged illegal poker games tied to the Mafia, FBI Director Kash Patel said. Rozier and a former NBA player, Damon Jones, were arrested in a sports betting case, Patel said at a press conference in New York. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Podcasts

Everything Is Gambling Now, With Liz Franczak

A detailed view of a hand holding a Fanduel Sports Network–branded microphone during an interview after the Detroit Pistons defeated the Boston Celtics on February 26, 2025 in Detroit, Michigan.

Gambling

The NBA Media Is Not Built To Cover A Gambling Scandal

Kathryn Xu

Commuters wait on the platform as a Northbound Broad Street Line train arrives at SEPTA City Hall subway station.

It’s Mega-Fucked That SEPTA Has To Be Bailed Out By A Betting App

Israel Daramola

Terry Rozier dribbles a ball as a Charlotte Hornet.

Terry Rozier Is The Latest Player Implicated In Illegal Sports Betting Scheme

<p>Staff Writer</p>
<p>Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19</p>


Chris Thompson

Detail view of a DraftKings Sportsbook advertisement

How Much Protection Do Online Sportsbooks Owe Their Patrons?


<p>Dan McQuade was a founding member of Defector. He died in January 2026.</p>


Dan McQuade

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 08: Xavier Legette #17 of the Carolina Panthers drops a pass while being guarded by C.J. Gardner-Johnson #8 of the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth quarter of a game at Lincoln Financial Field on December 08, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sports Gambling Thrives On Clicks, Not Community

Amos Barshad

People walk by a banner outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for the IPO of Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel, on January 29, 2024 in New York City. The company, which is already on the London Stock Exchange, will be listed under the “FLUT” symbol. Wall Street observers are watching to see if an upcoming Fed announcement on rate policy and the most recent violence in the Middle East will have any effect on the markets.

The Gambling Industry’s Cynical Play For Your Vote

‘ESPN Bet’ Is A Black Hole

Maitreyi Anantharaman

A collage of Detroit Tigers in-game parlays on Bally Sports

How Often Would You Lose On 81 Tigers Same-Game Parlays Pushed By Bally Sports Detroit?

<div dir="auto">
<div dir="auto">Corbin Smith is a writer and photographer from Vancouver, Washington. His work has appeared in Deadspin, The Daily Beast, and <em>Rolling Stone</em>. He is also the host of <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pacific-northwest-insurance-corporation-moviefilm/id1712416222"><em>The Pacific Northwest Insurance Corporation Moviefilm Podcast,</em></a> a podcast about movies.</div>
</div>
<div class="yj6qo ajU"></div>


Corbin Smith

Joe Montana attends the FanDuel Fantasy Golf Classic on July 11, 2017 in New York City.

Sports Is Betting It All On Gambling

Minnesota Timberwolves player Rudy Gobert reacts to a ref giving him a technical foul during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 8.

What If Rudy Gobert Wasn’t Wrong, Just Early?

Tom Ley

Some of the more than 400 proposition bets for Super Bowl LI between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots are displayed at the Race &amp; Sports SuperBook at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort &amp; Casino on January 26, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Defector Up All Night

We Have Confirmed The Existence Of America’s New Worst Bettor

Bill Simmons advertising a same-game parlay.

Sports Betting Industry Finally Predatory Enough To Make Money

A general view of a DraftKings advertisement on top of the Green Monster during the ALS Awareness college baseball game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Boston College Eagles on May 19, 2023, at Fenway Park in Boston, MA.

Life's Rich Pageant

DraftKings Apologizes For Pushing “Never Forget” 9/11 Parlay

A view of the ESPN logo on a camera after the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 30, 2023 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Media Meltdowns

ESPN Is About To Get Much More Annoying

David Roth

Luis Perez of the Arlington Renegades celebrates winning the 2023 XFL Championship on May 13, 2023.

Over And Under In The XFL Championship

LAS VEGAS - AUGUST 24: An Elvis Presley impersonator sings to World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Chairman Vince McMahon during his 64th birthday celebration in the ring during the WWE Monday Night Raw show at the Thomas & Mack Center August 24, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pro Wrestling

How Would Betting On Pro Wrestling Even Work?

Krause gets his hands wrapped. (Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)