A player from the Denver Broncos and the starting quarterback of the Iowa State Cyclones are reportedly facing up to two years in prison for their role in betting on sports over the last two years.
Players betting on games was a major story in the NFL last month. As a slew of athletes from various teams were suspended for the 2023 season after they were found to have been involved with wagers on NFL games. One of those players who was hit with a ban in July was Denver Broncos defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike.
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Uwazurike was already on the wrong end of a stiff penalty from the league, however, it seems that may now be the least of his problems. On Wednesday, The Athletic reported that the 25-year-old is one of four players that were charged in Iowa District Court for Story County for tampering with records stemming from alleged wagers.
Yet, the 2022 rookie isn’t the biggest fish caught in the investigation for sports betting because Iowa State Cyclones star QB Hunter Dekkers is also one of the individuals being hit with serious charges. Both Dekkers and Uwazurike are current or former Iowa State players and are believed to have bet on games in 2021 and 2022.
Denver Broncos and Iowa State players reportedly concealed their identities to make sports bets on Draft Kings
In the case of the Denver Broncos talent, he also bet on NFL games and “knowingly and intentionally falsified personal electronic sports wagering records by concealing his personal identity in said records with the intent to deceive or conceal a wrongdoing knowing he had no privilege or right to do so.” Betting on games is obviously a major no-no for professional and collegiate athletes.
Both players reportedly altered documents for wagers with popular betting side Draft Kings in an attempt to conceal their identity. In the case of Dekkers, the underaged bettor reportedly disguised his identity with the help of his parents, Scott and Jami Dekkers.
Tampering with official records is considered an aggravated misdemeanor in the state of Iowa and is punishable by as many as two years in prison.
Dekkers was the starting QB for the Iowa State Cyclones in 2022. Posting 3,044 yards threw the air with 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Uwazurike played in eight games for the Denver Broncos last season, tallying just 18 tackles.