The Latest Evidence Sports Gambling Has Gotten Way Out Of Hand

We hear a lot about how conspiracy culture and conspiracy theories have destroyed political discourse.

Everything today is a conspiracy. Everything is a psyop. Thanks to the internet, this kind of conspiratorial thinking is rampant. But now, conspiracy culture is filtering into sports, particularly the world of sports gambling. It’s getting out of hand.

Over the weekend, Dave Portnoy went on a classic social media rant after losing a bet in the Broncos-Raiders game. I should note that it’s hard to tell with Portnoy sometimes. Much of what he posts is rage-bait, and some of his rants are jokes. We can’t always tell if he is being serious or if it’s just a performance. (RELATED: Fans Believe NFL Game Was Rigged For Gambling Purposes After Funky Ending)

Anyway, Portnoy’s apparent ire was primarily directed at the Raiders during the game’s closing moments. Down 24-14 with under a minute to go, the Raiders opted to continue pushing forward offensively rather than allowing the clock to run out.

The decision probably frustrated a ton of bettors who were banking on the Broncos to cover the week-long spread of 7.5 to 8.5 points or were eyeing the Over/Under set at 40.5.

Portnoy’s fury peaked after a delay of the game penalty on the Raiders’ defense. Safety Brandon Jones kept Tyler Lockett grounded after a 26-yard catch, planting Las Vegas at Denver’s 33-yard line. Portnoy went as far as suggesting punitive measures for NFL referees and calling for the murder of Raiders head coach Pete Carroll.

The Raiders ended up hitting a field goal in the drive’s concluding moments, bringing the score to a tighter 24-17.

PRISON FOR EVERYBODY!! THAT’S THE BIGGEST RIG JOB IVE EVER SEEN. INVESTIGATE THE NFL. INVESTIGATE PETE CARROLL. IVESTIGATE THE RAIDERS!!! pic.twitter.com/hpEr1JOiqm

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 7, 2025

It wasn’t just Portnoy. A bunch of NFL fans believed that the league had rigged the outcome, as if refs on the field were getting calls from the Big Guy in Las Vegas mid-game.

As humans, it’s hard not to blame randomness and things out of our control on conspiracies. We try to detect patterns where there are none to make sense of a chaotic world. Sometimes, though, we have to rein ourselves in, because not everything is a conspiracy.

Unfortunately, the emotions surrounding a big wager on a game will get the better of us. If we stand to lose a ton of money, of course, we are going to blame all the factors outside of our control. We will never blame ourselves to begin with for wagering money on a game.

I will be the first to admit that sometimes, in the heat of the moment, I blame the refs and point to a conspiracy when my team doesn’t play well. It’s hard not to sometimes, if a call is so blatantly wrong.

Sports betting takes this feeling and makes it one hundred times worse.