The straight of Hormuz obviously is their trump card to play, but if they had an American pilot in their captivity, that would be a major major bit of leverage for them. Hey everybody, welcome to Here's the Scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasmugian.On the show today, college basketball fans are going to be watching their prop bets and their brackets for the weekend's NCAA's Final Four. But what toll is the rise of gambling taking on student athletes. We're going to get into that.Up first though, we are starting wi ...

Sports Gambling Integrity Concerns - A federal crackdown revealed over 30 individuals, including NBA figures, involved in gambling and sports rigging operations linked to major crime families [1] - Legalized sports gambling, now in 38 states, introduces potential integrity issues requiring regulation [1] - Prop bets, particularly on individual player statistics, are creating integrity issues that leagues and gambling companies need to address [1][4] - Sophisticated AI tools can detect oddities in wagering, yet individuals still engage in such activities [1] Industry Response and Regulation - Leagues and gambling companies are motivated to increase integrity due to consumer concerns about fairness [2][3] - Leagues may welcome external investigations to clear up integrity issues [1] - Limiting prop bets on individual player statistics is a potential solution [4] - States have varying rules regarding prop bets on college athletics [5] Financial Implications - A player making $26 million annually risks their career for potentially a couple hundred thousand dollars [1] - Corporate partnership spending from the gambling industry is nearly $1 billion in the US and over $1 billion globally [8]

The legal issues are really serious. These are major felonies. These are conspiracy to commit wire fraud and related charges.The players could face conceivably years in prison if they're convicted. Obviously, they haven't been able to tell their side of the story yet. So we'll find out how the defense surfaces.But super serious and the allegations are that there's a player, there's a coach, a former coach, all of whom, of course, have access to information. A player can change his play to further bets. And ...