Getting suspended indefinitely from the NFL after his first year for placing bets from a team facility was a pretty bad situation for former Denver Broncos lineman Enyi Uwazurike. Uwazurike’s situation went from bad to worse this week when he was hit with charges of illegally gambling on the Iowa State Cyclones football team when he was playing for them in 2021, along with charges of tampering with records to conceal those bets.
The charges were laid by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation’s (DCI) Special Enforcement Operations Bureau, and revolve around a DraftKings’ account shared by as many as seven ISU football players. Though most of the players involved in the scheme were underage at the time, authorities were more concerned about the fact that they were betting on their own team.
Officials from the Iowa Department of Public Safety warn that additional charges in the matter could be forthcoming.
Uwazurike is specifically accused of wagering on four different ISU Cyclones’ games that he played in during the 2021 season. He’s also accused of attempting to hide his identity on that account – which may be the same account that he used for placing 32 bets on the Denver Broncos during the 2022 season.
In a statement to the Des Moines Register, Brian Ohorilko, administrator of Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission said that he didn’t believe the integrity of specific games were compromised by the wagers. That said, everyone but the players seem to be in agreement that athletes should not be wagering on games that they are competing in. Though that hasn’t stopped players from placing bets on their teams and placing those bets from team facilities.
Uwazurike was the eleventh NFL player suspended this year for gambling-related issued.