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Yesterday, we brought you the story of an incredulous Adam Schefter wondering if certain odds being provided by ESPN Bet were a “gimmick” while on ESPN’s national airwaves.
The particular bet that had Schefty so stunned was the fact that odds on the Los Angeles Chargers trading up in the NFL Draft had gone up despite all of his intel suggesting otherwise.
“I looked into this a month ago and asked, ‘Could this be? Would anybody in Los Angeles consider taking JJ McCarthy?'” Schefter explained on Get Up! the day before the 2024 NFL Draft began.
“And the way it was told to me a month ago is that no new money in Justin Herbert’s contract has kicked in, to trade him would cost well over $100 million, which would be the largest cap charge in history… And I don’t understand how those odds have gone up like that. Is this some sort of gimmick?”
It would appear that Schefter isn’t the only one to notice ESPN Bet doing something seemingly funky with their particular Chargers bet as a tweet pointing out that ESPN is “actively using their power as a news source to take your money” has gone viral on Twitter.
ESPN is actively using their power as a “news source” to take your money https://t.co/9kFNitQSB1
— jxke. 🧸 (@cantguardjake) April 24, 2024
“It’s actually nuts a company like ESPN can operate a sports book given that they are a ‘news source’ and have insider information which they can use to easily manipulate odds and lines. How is this anything other than sanctioned money laundering and just taking people’s money?” said one tweet.
“How is ESPN, a sports news outlet, also a gambling platform?? At what point is the FTC going to get involved? If this isn’t an issue, why does the FTC exist?” asked another.
The idea that the Chargers, who already have 26-year-old Justin Herbert — widely considered to be one of the most talented QBs in the league — as their starter, would trade up for an unproven rookie, regardless of his relationship with new head coach Jim Harbaugh, is extreme.
ESPN’s handling of ESPN Bet caused controversy back in March after studio host Rece Davis said that a college basketball bet proposed by analyst Erin Dolan was a “risk-free investment.”