Malik Beasley to plead guilty in NBA gambling scandal involving wire fraud and sports bribery

NBA player Malik Beasley will plead guilty to charges on Dec. 9 regarding illegal sports gambling, his attorney told multiple outlets.

Beasley is accused of altering his play in certain games in 2024 to enrich sports bettors and ease his own debt.

In July, Beasley entered a not guilty plea in New York federal court. He was among the latest big names caught up in a sweeping federal gambling investigation. Beasley, 29, and sports agent Paolo Zamorano, who has also pleaded not guilty, were among six people charged in an indictment unsealed this summer detailing a gambling scandal that has involved more than three dozen arrests.

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Beasley is accused of fixing or trying to fix his performance in at least four games while playing for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2024 by underperforming or overperforming bookmakers’ expectations. In exchange, the indictment said, the bettors bribed Beasley — and his debts to Davis were reduced or eliminated.

Beasley allegedly borrowed money from Ed Davis, a former teammate, after racking up millions of dollars in gambling losses. His widely reported financial problems include disputes with a Detroit landlord, a Milwaukee barber and a Minnesota dentist. A 2025 lawsuit from a sports marketing agency resulted in a $1 million default judgment against him.

All three men were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, sports bribery, honest services wire fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Beasley has been out of the NBA since playing with the Detroit Pistons in the 2024-25 season on a one-year, $6 million contract. He averaged 16 points per game and scored 20 in his last game, a playoff loss to the New York Knicks.

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The gambling scandal swept the NBA this time last year, and it led to the arrests of prominent NBA figures Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups and Damon Jones. Jones became the first NBA figure in the scandal to plead guilty after acknowledging that he conspired with others to defraud sports betting companies by using "insider information that I obtained as a result of my relationships as a former player."

Jones told someone close to him that a "prominent" player on the Los Angeles Lakers, widely speculated to be LeBron James, would not play Feb. 9, 2023, before the information was made public. Jones was an assistant for the team at the time. James did not play in the game due to an ankle injury. The game was played two days after James scored 38 points to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer.

Jones also allegedly gave apparent inside information about another "one of the Lakers' best players" 11 months later, speculated to be Anthony Davis, regarding an injury that was likely to affect his performance. That ultimately backfired because the player "performed well," and the Lakers won, according to authorities.

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Rozier is accused of taking himself out of a game so bettors could cash out on his "under" props. Jontay Porter is currently serving prison time for illegal sports gambling, as well.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.