Malik Beasley agrees to plead guilty to gambling charges

Veteran NBA guard Malik Beasley, who was indicted earlier this year for federal gambling crimes, will be revising his not-guilty plea.

Per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Beasley will be pleading guilty.

The formal charges were filed in June. Beasley was accused of participating in a scheme based on manipulation of prop bets based on his statistics.

Beasley is scheduled to officially plead guilty on December 9.

The nine-year veteran allegedly manipulated his play in four games with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2023-24 season. He allegedly agreed to do so as a way to pay off a loan after falling into debt.

Beasley, 29, spent nine seasons in the NBA. He earned roughly $60 million. Per Vorkunov, Beasley nearly signed a new $42 million deal after finishing second in the Sixth Man of the Year voting for the 2024-25 season. The offer was withdrawn after the gambling situation came to light.

The Beasley situation is just one of several NBA gambling scandals since sports betting became legalized on a widespread basis. The NFL has avoided, to date, a major gambling scandal since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates in 2018 to state-by-state wagering on sports.