[neonnoodle]

> Wonder how all of the focus seem to happen at the same time

Because this practice was made legal very recently in most places in the US and a concomitant advertising boom has saturated the media. Before the last few years, your average American couldn't bet on sports without visiting a casino sports book in person, or having a bookie (i.e., entering into a risky relationship with organized crime). TV sports coverage now openly refers to how you can use their analysis to make bets.

[neaden]

Also because the NBA is going through a gambling scandal with players being involved with the mafia.

[robotnikman]

This is the first time I heard of this, I decided to look up some of the news stories behind it. Maybe I'm nieve, but I thought the Sicilian Mafia died out decades a

[tacker2000]

They never died, they are still going strong.

[markdown]

They never said it was Sicilian Mafia.

[greggh]

Multiple articles and interviews have said it was the Sicilian Mafia / La Cosa Nostra.

"The Five Families - the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese - have ruled the city's Italian American mafia since 1931."

"The Five Families are part of the larger American-Sicilian mafia operation known as La Cosa Nostra"

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv1rkxjyyno

[daseiner1]

The Sicilian Mafia (La Cosa Nostra) refers exclusively to the mafia on the island of Sicily, not the Mob which traces its lineage back to Sicilian immigrants.

It's being said because the Five Families was erroneously conflated with Cosa Nostra in the original press conference by one of the representatives of law enforcement.