Some of the biggest gamblers out there are professional athletes. Guys like Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan are said to enjoy a friendly wager with their buddies. Jordan, however, has found himself in some legal troubles because of his gambling.

Individual sports have different rules for playing the sports books. Some leagues forbid any and all gambling on sports, while some leagues, like the NBA, will allow athletes to place sports bets. All sports, however, strictly forbid an athlete or coach to bet on the sport he plays. To bet on his own team is the kiss of the death professionally.

Pete Rose

Perhaps no other athlete personifies the consequences of betting on one’s own sport more than Pete Rose. He was one of the best baseball players of the 1970s, some would argue one of the top players of all times. Holding the record for the total number of hits in a career guaranteed him a spot in the Hall of Fame, while feats like his 44-game hitting streak left no doubt about his date with Cooperstown.

However, Rose liked gambling. This was well-known during his years as a player, and his teammates often joined him at the race track. He gambled on other sports, as well. But his downfall came when word spread that, as manager of the Cincinnati Reds, Rose bet on baseball. Worse yet, there were questions on whether or not he bet on Reds games while he was the manager.

As a result, Rose has been permanently banned from baseball, including induction into the Hall of Fame.

There was a precedent for the Rose ruling – Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the greatest players of the early 20th century, has also been banned forever because of the 1919 Chicago “Black Sox” scandal, where members of the White Sox allegedly threw the World Series for gamblers.

Why Is Gambling a Problem among Athletes?

Athletes, like Jordan, tend to be high rollers. With their multi-million dollar salaries and endorsement deals, dropping thousands of dollars down on a sports book is nothing to them. Plus, who knows games better than athletes? Even though they aren’t betting on their own sport, they understand the pressures and intricacies of professional athletics better than the average bettor, plus it gives them a chance to be “involved” in the games they don’t play.

Sports leagues realize that gambling can get out of control, even for the guys who don’t have to worry about going bankrupt over a gambling debt. They are beginning to set up counseling and help for their athletes who develop a gambling addiction.