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Alexa Philippou: WNBA spox statement on a since-deleted post in which Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers bantered about a friendly wager ahead of yesterday's Dream-Wings matchup: "While the social media post was intended to be lighthearted, WNBA players are well aware of the league's policies prohibiting betting on WNBA games and receive training every year reinforcing those policies. We recognized that the post missed the mark, removed it shortly after it was published, and addressed the matter internally. We will also use this as an opportunity to reemphasize with the players involved that conversations about wagering on WNBA games, even when intended as a joke, can have negative consequences.”
Hennen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the rigged poker games case in a Brooklyn courtroom Tuesday. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and agreed to roughly $700,000 in forfeiture as part of his plea agreement. He will be sentenced by Reyes on Jan. 21, 2027 at 11 a.m. Todd Leventhal, Hennen’s attorney, told Front Office Sports that as part of his client’s plea agreement, the charges in the NBA gambling case will be transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, where prosecutors are trying the college case. Hennen has also been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery in sports.
The NBA and NCAA both specifically asked the CFTC to adopt a minimum age of 21 for users to trade on sports-event contracts, something the NFL also requested.Kalshi and Polymarket allow people as young as 18 to use their platforms. Age requirements on sportsbooks, which are regulated on a state-by-state basis, can vary; FanDuel, for example, requires users in most states to be at least 21, although in Washington, D.C. and Wyoming the minimum age is 18, while DraftKings allows 18-year-old users in many states, but the age requirement goes up to 19 in Nebraska and Alabama, and 21 in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Virginia. The ATP did not specify a specific age limit, but did say the proposal failed to establish things like age and advertising restrictions.
Mike Vorkunov: Federal prosecutors in the rigged poker game case, where Chauncey Billups is a defendant, have asked to move the trial from Nov. 2, 2026 to early 2027. After 12 people agreed to plead guilty, DOJ lawyers say that they're in "serious plea negotiations" with at least 7 others.
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Mike Vorkunov: If those 7 decide to plead guilty, there will be 5 defendants left after the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York originally charged 31 people in the indictment. EDNY prosecutors told the federal judge overseeing the case that "approximately three defendants" are not in plea negotiations. The lawyer for Billups is among the five defendant's attorneys who don't consent to EDNY's request to move the trial.
Heat Central: Giannis and his conversation with Malik Beasley 👀 Giannis: You coming back in the league? Beasley: gotta handle some business first then we’ll see Giannis: Give me a call, private Beasley: I’m in Miami too Giannis: You in Miami? I’ll be there in like a week. If you’re still there imma hit you
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Viewership for the games was as high as it has been since 1998, five years before ESPN and ABC began producing the Finals in 2003, Google searches reached peak levels, social clips broke records for the NBA and Knicks related merchandise has been flying off the shelves. Sportsbooks saw a record amount of action at the window as well. DraftKings told the Post that five of the six most bet NBA games in the sportsbook’s history all came from this NBA Finals series with Game 5 at the top for most-bet NBA game ever at DraftKings. BetMGM said it saw a 28.6 percent jump in the average handle wagered on each game from the 2025 Finals to 2026 Finals. The Knicks were such a massive draw at BetMGM, the team became a liability midway through the series.
