LeBron James speaks out on Maverick Carter's placing bets with illegal bookie

A recent gambling scandal has gone viral, involving LeBron James' longtime friend and business partner, Maverick Carter, who was caught illegally betting on NBA and NFL games. Following this breaking story, LeBron has now come to the defense of Maverick in his first comments about the incident.

#ICYMI : SOURCE SPORTS: Maverick Carter, Manager of LeBron James, Confessed to Feds of Using Illegal Gambling Bookmaker#WeGotUs #SourceLovehttps://t.co/fuNcJlHDHj— The Source Magazine (@TheSource) December 1, 2023

Gambling Scandal

While sports betting is becoming more accepted and common throughout the United States, it hasn't always been an accepted vice. With many states having strict gambling laws, sourcing sports bets sometimes required going through illegal bookies. After a recent federal investigation, Maverick Carter admitted to placing roughly 20 illegal bets over the course of a year.


These bets were placed on NBA and NFL games, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. Some texts later revealed that he increased his wager to $25,000 for NBA games in 2019. What makes this significant is that this was the same year his personal friend LeBron James led the Lakers to an NBA championship.

Lebron Defends Maverick

Now, James has finally broken his silence and defended Carter in a recent interview. He started off by claiming no knowledge of the ongoing incidents before defending Carter's actions, referring to the many legal sportsbooks available throughout the USA, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. Additionally, he called Carter his own man, stating that he has the right to do as he pleases. James declared that the only reason any of this went viral was due to Carter's close personal relationship with himself.


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Lakers Daily