The NBA’s gambling problem has not gone away. If anything, it keeps getting messier, with more names and more legal entanglements piling up just as the league tries to move forward.
Now another name has been added to a very uncomfortable list. Shams Charania broke the news that a nine-year NBA veteran has been formally charged in federal court, and the government is already moving to bring him in.
Malik Beasley Indicted on Federal Gambling Charges
GettyFormer NBA Starter Malik Beasley Indicted on Gambling Charges
Charania was first to report it, with Beasley’s attorney Steve Haney confirming the details to ESPN. “Nine-year NBA veteran Malik Beasley has been indicted on federal charges for gambling related to a sports betting scheme, such as point shaving and prop bets, his attorney Steve Haney tells ESPN. The government is coordinating a voluntary surrender of Beasley this week.”
The federal probe started a full year ago, in June 2025. Authorities began looking into unusual betting activity tied to Beasley’s performances during the 2023-24 season, when he was still with the Milwaukee Bucks. At least one major sportsbook flagged suspiciously heavy action on his prop bets, particularly around a Bucks-Trail Blazers game in January 2024.
Haney pushed back hard at the time. “An investigation is not a charge. Malik is afforded the same right of the presumption of innocence as anyone else under the U.S. Constitution. As of now he has not been charged with anything.”
By August 2025, Haney told ESPN that Beasley was no longer considered a target. But he remained a subject of the investigation, meaning prosecutors had not fully walked away. A year later, that distinction is what kept the door open for charges.
How the Indictment Ends Beasley’s Road Back to the NBA
GettyMalik Beasley Charged in Federal Sports Betting Case
The legal cloud had already cost him more than most people realize. Coming off a breakout 2024-25 season with Detroit, Beasley averaged 16.3 points in all 82 games and set a Pistons franchise record with 319 made threes. He was in line for a three-year, $42 million deal to stay in Detroit before the investigation froze everything.
No NBA team would touch him. Earlier in 2026, he signed with the Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico just to keep playing, before being released in May.
Detroit still holds his non-bird rights and could offer up to $7.2 million if he were ever cleared. That now looks like a long shot. The NBA has not yet commented on the indictment.
A voluntary surrender is being coordinated with the government. Beasley went from a Pistons fan favorite and Sixth Man of the Year finalist to facing federal court, and the path back to the NBA has never looked longer.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Former Pistons’ Malik Beasley Indicted in Shocking Federal Gambling Case appeared first on HEAVY.