Maverick Carter, Manager of Lakers' LeBron James, Used Illegal Bookie to Bet on NBA

Maverick Carter admitted to federal agents that he placed bets on NBA games and other sports through the use of an illegal bookie, per Gus Garcia-Roberts of the Washington Post.

Garcia-Roberts noted Carter, who is the manager and business partner of LeBron James, admitted as much in 2021 when he was interviewed by agents as part of an investigation into bookie Wayne Nix.

Records indicated he placed bets ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 on approximately 20 football and basketball games, although Carter made it clear he "could not remember placing any bets on the [Los Angeles] Lakers."

That was notable since James is a member of the Lakers and has connections with Carter.

Carter also said his gambling "has nothing to do with him" when speaking about James. He also denied betting for others.

"In 2021 and before 38 states and the District of Columbia legalized sports betting, Maverick Carter was interviewed a single time by federal law enforcement regarding their investigation into Wayne Nix," a spokesperson for Carter and James said in a statement. "Mr. Carter was not the target of the investigation, cooperated, was never charged, and never contacted again on the matter."

Garcia-Roberts reported that Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen also said he placed a bet with Nix.

The report explains the National Basketball Players Association bans agents but not business managers from betting on league games. The league itself bans players, team officials and league officials from doing so, although it does not have the ability to prevent agents and managers from betting.

This comes as a number of sports leagues have embraced the prevalence of gambling through partnerships, commercials and other agreements. There are also now teams from the NHL, WNBA and NFL in Las Vegas, and Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics could be moving there in the future.

A number of NFL players have also been suspended for violating the league's gambling policies in recent years.

As for Carter, he is childhood friends with James and co-owns a media company with the basketball legend. They are also minority owners of the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool.

In the time since Carter was interviewed as part of the investigation, Nix has pleaded guilty to charges attached to his role in an offshore betting ring, per Garcia-Roberts.