When I mention to people that my current research is an investigation into point shaving (in this case NCAA Basketball) I often am asked how that is done. I can tell by the look on people’s face that my explanation is not a very good one. This article explains it in lay terms far better then I can. I tip my hat to the author. He did a great job.
The actual working paper can be found in our department website here. Any comments or thoughts are most welcome (please do so in person).
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Michael Lam MWF 2:00-2:50
ReplyDeleteI was first introduced to sports by my gambling uncle, and for that reason I can say that I believe that point shaving exist. However, I was always led to believe that this something that is more apparent on the professional level, as seen by the Tim Donaghy Scandal. I always felt that players with talents worth millions of dollars always have the ability and overall power to change the outcome of a game. But, it was a little shocking to see that point shaving might exist on the college level because I always felt that the players at this level have not developed the abilities to have such a strong influence on the overall outcome. Point shaving is something that cannot be justified to fans and gamblers, it takes away entertainment value from the games and also causes a unfair situation for gamblers.
I never understood the concept of point shaving at all prior to reading this article. I’ve seen it portrayed in college basketball on a television series before, but the writers of the show didn’t do a very good job of providing background information. I understand now what point shaving means, but there is one major concept that I am confused about. While I understand the reasons why it is illegal for players, referees, and to a certain extent the coaches, to participate in, why is it a federal offense for an outside party to gamble according to the outcomes of point shaving? Don’t get me wrong, I 100% agree that point shaving is unfair and undermines the value of the game, but is it really illegal if a bettor who is "in the know" is not the one who is actually performing the misdeed? I would imagine that the outside source would have to have some kind of illegal push behind it, such as threatening violence or exposing dirt on the player/referee (this was the case on the TV show), but I don’t quite understand how the gambler could be held responsible for the act of someone else. In that regard I would chalk it up to something similar to the discussion we had in class last Wednesday about morality in the market—something may not technically be illegal, but companies still shouldn’t do it just to make a profit. I am reassured by the idea that there are economists and analysts out there who can interpret this information and use real data to stop this from occurring. Particularly at the college level NCAA, I feel there is no reason (aside from pure greed and selfishness) for a player to be earning money under the table from a game when none of their other teammates are being paid to play. I very quickly skimmed the beginning pages of Diemer and Leeds’ article and noticed that the authors addressed this concept, conveying that players are likely to be comfortable with point shaving for a few reasons, mostly regarding compensation and lack of attachment to university (pp. 2-3).
ReplyDeleteJenna Smith TR 8-9:20
ReplyDeleteAlthough point shaving is illegal and a crime how can one really judge if an action or call in the game is really justified as altering the game’s outcome and statistics for a gamblers joy. There is no doubt in my mind that point shaving does exist and those players, refs, or coaches do have something to do with it or at least benefit somehow. In the article it explains how the statistics and numbers really speak on just how point shaving exists, but in reality no one really knows. When I think of point shaving I think of the movie “The Longest Yard” because the main character purposefully lost the game in order to be compensated in some other way---moreover this kind of stuff happens every day and though it is illegal the only people who really know are those who are involved. This economic issue is a really hard one to justify I believe because it is hard to tell from truly dumb mistakes/calls or purposeful in order to make a few bucks. Next time I watch any kind of sports game I will definitely now be suspicious of stupid calls and mistakes because one never knows if it was done for their own or another’s benefit.