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Since the Supreme Court’s PASPA decision in 2018, there has been an uptick on harassment against athletes from bettors. The collection of incidents, in the view of the industry, is typically construed as both troubling and prevalent. Against a backdrop of alarming threats in numerous sports, perhaps the most disconcerting occurred at the hands of Benjamin “Parlay” Patz, a California bettor.
Approximately 15 months after the high court’s ruling, Patz sent a series of explicit messages to four members of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays, threatening to “sever” their necks open. Accused by federal investigators of targeting more than 300 accounts of pro and college athletes, Patz pleaded guilty in 2021 to transmitting threats in interstate or foreign commerce. Although a judge ordered Patz to undergo mental health treatment and abstain from gambling, he did not sentence the bettor to prison.
Years later, former Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin convened a sports betting hearing in December 2024, the first federal hearing held on the subject in six years. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, opened the hearing with an anecdote from March Madness the prior season. Despite recording a double-double in a win over Michigan State, former North Carolina center Armando Bacot received more than 100 threats on social media, Durbin told the committee. Bacot, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, drew the ire of bettors for missing the “over” on his rebound total.
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He brings extensive experience in law enforcement, the prevention of financial crimes, regulatory oversight and the development of Brazil’s newly regulated betting market.
At the SPA, Macorin plays a leading role in the implementation, supervision and enforcement of Brazil’s regulatory framework for betting.
Since joining the Ministry of Finance in 2024, he has been directly involved in implementing Brazil’s betting regulatory framework. His work has focused particularly on monitoring authorised operators, combatting the illegal market and strengthening controls to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, as well as coordinating enforcement actions with other government agencies and private sector stakeholders.
What is Almighty Hot Wins?
That shift is increasingly visible across the sector, with DEI framed less as a standalone initiative and more as part of everyday business culture.
For Grainne Hurst, CEO of the Betting & Gaming Council in the UK, the evolution has been clear. “The conversation has moved beyond representation alone towards inclusion, retention, well-being and progression,” Hurst explains. “Businesses increasingly understand that DEI must be embedded in everyday culture, not treated as a separate initiative.”
Industry associations have played an important role through mentoring, networking and leadership development.
