[likeclockwork]

The sports contest is not a gambling game though or even inherently part of one. The players are not casino employees of any kind.

The fact that a person can bet on anything that doesn't make influencing the outcome of events generally a crime.

Influencing outcomes is a natural response to wagering on outcomes. If that's fraud and unsavory then maybe the problem is the actual institution of gambling and not the manner in which people choose to participate.

(I'd also apply this argument to whether insider trading or stock manipulation should be illegal.)