In N.B.A. Betting Scandal, Influencers Played an Old Game in a New Form
Pick sellers like Mr. Fairley, known as touts, play an old game in a new form. Touts promote themselves to consumers as successful gamblers willing to share their moneymaking insights, often for a fee, employing slick online marketing. On social media, betting influencers may post winning tickets showing their hot streaks, or images of beachside cabanas and trips to casinos as evidence of their prowess — and the lifestyle that awaits their followers.
“It’s like buying a stock, really,” said Brad Humphreys, an economist at West Virginia University who studies sports betting. “These touts are really performing the same role as investment advisers would be for people buying stocks.”
Mr. Fairley and another gambling influencer, Shane Hennen, worked together to obtain and trade on inside information about N.B.A. players, prosecutors say. They placed hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bets on the underperformance of players like Terry Rozier, a former Charlotte Hornets guard who was also charged in the indictment.
Tips printed on card stock have been sold at horse racing tracks for decades, featuring suggested wagers and analysis. Professional sports handicappers like Stu Feiner became media personalities for selling picks to bettors in the 1980s and ’90s, with bombast frequently accompanying their advice.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/nyregion/nba-betting-online-influencers.html