Point-shaving

In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to prevent a team from covering a published point spread. Unlike other forms of sports betting, spread betting invariably motivates point shaving. A point shaving scheme generally involves a sports gambler and one or more players of the team favored to win the game. In exchange for a bribe, the player or players agree to ensure that their team will not "cover the point spread" (i.e. the bribed player's team may still win, but by not as big a margin as predicted by oddsmakers). The gambler then wagers against the bribed team. Alternatively, an official (referee) of the game may be bribed, or even bet on his own behalf, so that one or more "close calls" will be called in favor of the "underdog" rather than the team favored to win.

Basketball is a particularly easy medium for shaving points because of the scoring tempo of the game and the ease by which one player can influence key events. By deliberately missing shots or committing well-timed turnovers or fouls, a corrupt player can covertly ensure that his team fails to cover the point spread without causing them to lose the game. Although the NCAA has adopted a zero tolerance policy with respect to gambling activity by its players, some critics believe it unwittingly encourages point shaving due to its strict rules regarding amateurism, combined with the large amount of money wagered on its games. The NCAA has produced posters warning players not to engage in point shaving.

Famous examples of point shaving are the Dixie Classic scandal of 1961, the CCNY Point Shaving Scandal in 1950–51 and the Boston College basketball point shaving scandal of 1978–79, which was perpetrated by gangsters Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke.

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