- Shane Hennen pleaded guilty Wednesday to his role in point-shaving schemes that included fixed Chinese Basketball Association games.
- Per the indictment, Hennen’s group bet at least $198,300 on one fixed game at BetRivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino in Philadelphia.
PHILADELPHIA – Shane “Sugar Shane” Hennen pleaded guilty Wednesday to bribery and wire fraud charges tied to fixing NBA, college and Chinese basketball games. But one detail in the indictment hasn’t gotten much attention: where some of the money was bet.
According to prosecutors, Hennen and fellow gambler Marves Fairley bribed former NBA player Antonio Blakeney to underperform for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Before Jiangsu’s March 6, 2023, game against the Guangdong Southern Tigers, the group placed at least $198,300 in wagers on Guangdong to cover an 11.5-point spread with BetRivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino in Philadelphia.
Blakeney, who averaged more than 32 points that season, scored just 11, and Guangdong covered.
Nine days later, the group put another $50,000 with the same sportsbook on Zhejiang to cover a 15-point spread against Jiangsu, and Zhejiang won 121-80.
Rivers is not accused of any wrongdoing. Still, the two bets added up to roughly 1.4% of all the retail bets Rivers Philadelphia took that March, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s revenue report. That’s a notable share of a full month’s action riding on one player in an overseas league.
Who Flagged It?
The indictment doesn’t say whether Rivers flagged the action. But it does show another casino doing exactly that. Before a December 2024 college game, co-defendant Jalen Smith tried to place a $50,000 bet at a Kentucky casino. The casino rejected it and only let him bet $860.
There’s also the question of why a CBA game was on the board at all.
Under Pennsylvania’s sports wagering rules, every sportsbook must get Board approval for the events and wager types it offers. The Board can approve international events and “any other sporting events” it chooses. But unlike Louisiana and Ohio, which post their approved catalogs online, Pennsylvania doesn’t publish a list.
Low-profile leagues are the easiest to fix, as players earn less, fewer people are watching, and one star can swing a game. Prosecutors say Hennen’s group started in China in 2022 before expanding to at least 29 college games involving 17 universities.
Ohio’s catalog even shows regulators can say no. It kept Japan’s top basketball league off the board until Sept. of last year. Meanwhile, bettors are spending more on these small markets. In Oregon, table tennis made up 17.9% of August’s handle.
Rivers wasn’t the only Pennsylvania sportsbook to take action from the group. The indictment also lists a $30,000 bet on a fixed St. Bonaventure first-half spread at FanDuel Sportsbook at Live! Casino in Philadelphia.
Hennen is set to be sentenced in the basketball cases in February, and the legal sports betting industry will be watching what else comes out before then.
