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In a press conference, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes joked, “sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games” before quickly saying “erase that.”
The 71-year-old began laughing shortly after making the comment, along with members of the press who can be heard in the background. Immediately after, he said: “I shouldn’t say that, but you know…erase that…” before putting his head in his hands.
“I’m just wondering what’s happening. I mean, cos I know we’re too good of players to do that…” He then apologized and said “I shouldn’t have said that…” The joke came as the coach was talking about some bad passes that had taken place

This was an all-timer by Rick Barnes
I asked him about the team’s heightened focus and it ends with him talking about certain questionable bad passes.
“Sometimes I wonder if my guys are betting on games.” pic.twitter.com/1Q5Au3008b
— Paige Dauer (@PaigeDauerFDP) February 1, 2026

Tennessee coach betting joke comes at a time when organizations are grappling with betting concerns
While the coach was only joking, and the quote led to a light hearted moment full of laughs at a press conference, the NCAA has faced a number of betting scandals in recent times.
Just a few weeks ago, a case was unsealed in federal court in Philadelphia, where prosecutors alleged that 26 people were involved in a long-running scheme that included bribery tied to sporting events, wire fraud, conspiracy, and helping others carry out the alleged crimes. However, these are only allegations.
In a statement, NCAA President Charlie Baker said: “Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA. We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports.”

Today’s news shines a light on issues in the sports betting ecosystem. We have to protect our athletes and our games. pic.twitter.com/P9bKeORRqr
— Charlie Baker (@CharlieBakerMA) January 15, 2026

He also said that when he took over as president three years ago, one of the first things he did was step up the organization’s response to sports betting.
It was also only in November of last year when six basketball student athletes were found to have violated NCAA betting rules, leading to expulsion from their schools.
Featured Image: Screenshot from X video by Paige Dauer
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The Vallejo casino saga is ongoing, as a joint statement has been sent by four California-based tribes expressing “serious concern” with the temporary preview casino.
The Vallejo Times Herald is reporting a statement has been sent out by the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, the Lytton Rancheria of California, and the United Auburn Indian Community.
The report says the tribes said that: “any move to proceed at this time would come despite a clear warning from the federal court overseeing the matter that Scotts Valley would be ‘ill-served’ by relying on the temporary restoration of gaming eligibility while the Department completes its reconsideration, which the Court has directed be conducted expeditiously and thoroughly.”
The preview casino would be located at 200 Columbus Parkway in Vallejo and would represent a teaser for what’s to come from Scotts Valley. The plan is to have a 160-acre casino which would include 24 single-family residences, a tribal administration building, a parking garage, and a 45-acre biological preserve area. However, the plans for the fully fledged larger casino remain in limbo.
What are the latest happenings in the Vallejo casino saga?
It was back in Spring of 2025 when two Native American tribes filed a federal lawsuit to try and stop the big casino project planned for Vallejo, by the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians. At the time, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and the Kletsel Dehe Nation of the Cortina Rancheria, both Patwin tribes, say the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not follow the proper process when it approved handing over the land to Scotts Valley.
There were also concerns because the casino would be built right near several historic Patwin village sites.
After several back-and-forths, early January 2026 saw a Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation spokesperson tell ReadWrite that the decision by the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians to move ahead with a temporary casino was “deeply hurtful.”
ReadWrite has reached out to the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation for confirmation on the reported statement.
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With the Super Bowl just around the corner, Caesars Sportsbook has just debuted its ‘largest-ever prop betting menu’ for the event.
The actual event will take place on February 9 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, with the company being the NFL’s first Official Casino Partner and an Official Sports Betting Partner. This year will see the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks go head-to-head.
In an announcement, Caesars says it is “proud to launch its largest Super Bowl prop betting menu ever in honor of its standing as the first NFL partner to hold naming rights to the stadium where the Super Bowl will be played, the Caesars Superdome.”
The brand says the menu offers thousands of proposition bets, allowing fans to wager on every part of the game, from predicting the outcome of the opening coin toss, to the performance of players, and more.
There will also be special themed Quick Picks released daily until kick-off and Live Same Game Parlays and other play-by-play wagering.
Caesars gets ready for upcoming Super Bowl
“For Super Bowl LIX, fans can bet on every aspect of the game with thousands of props to allow fans to feel closer to the performance of the game’s biggest stars and participate alongside the biggest moments,” said Kenneth Fuchs, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Caesars Digital.
“Caesars and the Caesars Superdome hold a special place in prop betting history dating back to Super Bowl XX in 1986. This year, our Super Bowl LIX prop betting menu is designed to live up to the magnitude of that moment and is bigger and better than ever.”
Also returning this year is Same Game Parlays and the digital version of the Super Bowl squares party game, Caesars Squares. The company says this year, though, the Caesars Squares will feature a new look and feel with a traditional grid format.
Featured Image: Screenshot via Superbowlnola Instagram post/video
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Laurence Escalante, the billionaire founder of gambling brand Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), has been charged with assault, burglary, and drug offences.
The betting magnate’s charges were brought forward in Perth Magistrates Court in Western Australia, where it was alleged that he persistently engaged in family violence, causing bodily harm to individuals, broke into multiple properties, and was in possession of Class A drugs.
Escalante faces serious allegations
The charges laid against VGW’s Escalante on Friday, 30 January 2026, show offences that carry substantial penalties in relation to persistent family violence, aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, and drug supply offences.
They include “trafficable quantities” of cocaine, MDMA, and ketamine, which have resulted in the three counts of possessing drugs with intent to sell or supply.
The billionaire will have a chance to appeal and contest the charges laid against him, but has made a public statement via a gambling news outlet, The Straight.
“My arrest on these matters has come as a shock to myself and my family. From the little I know of the allegations at this stage, I can only say that they are untrue and will be defended. I ask for both mine and my family’s privacy be respected, and thank them for their support,” said Escalante.
Perth Now has reported that the businessman has met the $100,000 bail bond and has been subject to remaining in Western Australia and to a restraining order on contacting those identified as possible victims.
VGW speaks out in light of the Escalante allegations
A VGW spokesperson stated to ReadWrite that “We are aware of the serious charges made against Mr Escalante. These are unrelated to VGW and personal in nature. However, we can confirm Mr Escalante will be taking a leave of absence from his role as CEO and Executive Chairman of VGW.”
The company has made a conscious decision to separate Escalante from VGW’s daily operations. This will likely remain the case until the senior executive appears again in Perth Magistrates Court on February 26, 2026.
“In the interim, we have installed experienced leadership from our existing executive team to take on those responsibilities and it remains business as usual for VGW. The company takes any allegations of this nature extremely seriously. As this is a private matter and remains before the courts, we cannot comment further,” the spokesperson concluded.
Featured image: VGW Facebook.
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The decentralized trading platform Jupiter has just announced Polymarket is coming to Solana, on Jupiter.
The update about the integration came through a social media post, in which the company said: “Integrating Polymarket is primed for making Jupiter the most innovative predictions platform on Solana.
“Trade all the markets you want. On one onchain platform. The best user-experience on Solana. The biggest Predictions Market in crypto.”

jupiter predict is going to be a major focus for us in the next year, and we aim to innovate on a number of things:
– robust prediction market apis – new ux on market discovery– useful data on individual markets – novel mechanisms to trade and communicate
we have put… https://t.co/5cgJtOxg9e
— meow (@weremeow) February 2, 2026

While a cinematic-style video was shared as part of the announcement, the actual details are quite limited. The official Polymarket account has joined in on the news, as it replied to the original post with ‘Polymarket [handshake emoji] Jupiter [handshake emoji] Solana.”
The X user ‘wearemeow’, who appears to be closely connected to the company, shared an additional insight as they said: “jupiter predict is going to be a major focus for us in the next year, and we aim to innovate on a number of things:
– robust prediction market apis
– new ux on market discovery
– useful data on individual markets
– novel mechanisms to trade and communicate
we have put together a great team working on it, excited to do this with polymarket!”
This new integration comes at a time when prediction markets have blown up in popularity over the last couple of years, but the industry has faced issues with state regulators too.
Jupiter confirms $35M strategic investment secured
Just a day after the prediction market news, Jupiter also confirmed it had secured a $35M strategic investment from ParaFi Capital.
According to the company, this will help to accelerate onchain financial infrastructure and the deal will be settled entirely in $JupUSD. The deal was said to have been closed at spot price with ParaFi committing to an extended token lockup. Founded in 2018, ParaFi is an alternative asset management and technology firm that operates liquid and venture strategies focused on the digital asset ecosystem.
Featured Image: Via Jupiter on X
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