A federal gambling case against ex-NBA players is bad news for the leagues and for the young men getting hooked, exposing how deeply betting now runs through sports and the wider economy.

• Ex-Bucks player Malik Beasley and others were indicted for rigging their own stats — like deliberately grabbing fewer rebounds — so co-conspirators could win prop bets.
• Beasley was buried in gambling debt himself, struggling to pay $2,000 and evicted, while text messages caught him and a teammate setting up the scheme.
• US sports betting has exploded from $6.6 billion in 2018 to $165 billion now, after a Supreme Court ruling opened the floodgates.
• The same pattern shows up at the top: Polymarket accounts won 98% of bets on US military operations, suggesting insider knowledge the government isn't prosecuting.
• Gambling is wrecking young men's finances — 10% show problem behavior, and it drives more bankruptcies, credit card defaults, and lost savings.

Outlook: With betting now worth over a billion a year in league sponsorships, the leagues have every reason to keep it going, so the addiction and scandals are likely to grow.