Point shaving
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Point shaving, in organized sports, is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators of the fix seek to prevent a team from covering a published point spread. Unlike other forms of match fixing, point shaving is invariably motivated by sports betting. A point shaving scheme generally involves a sports gambler and one or more members of a sports team. In exchange for a bribe from the gambler, the player or players agree to ensure that their team will not cover the point spread. The gambler then wagers against that team.
Point shaving occurs most frequently in amateur and collegiate sports, whose athletes are presumably more vulnerable to a gambler's bribery than professionals. Basketball is a particularly easy medium for shaving points, because of the scoring tempo of the game and the ability of one player to control key events of a contest. By deliberately missing shots or committing well-timed turnovers or fouls, a corrupt basketball player can subtly ensure that his team fails to cover the point spread, without causing them to lose the game (or to lose so badly that suspicions are aroused). Although the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) has adopted a zero tolerance policy with respect to gambling, some critics believe it unwittingly encourages point-shaving due to its strict rules regarding amateurism combined with the large amount of money wagered on its games.
See also
- Benny Silman
- Richie Perry
- Perry article (http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/blackbook/perry.html)
- Earlier Perry article (http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/blackbook/perry.clip2.html)