WNBA Deletes Video of Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers Making Illegal Wager

The WNBA deleted a video it had posted on its official X account showing players Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers making a $400 bet on a game.

The video, captured by other users on the social media platform, highlights that the wager violates the league’s gambling policies.

In the video, Bueckers of the Dallas Wings attempts to laugh off the bet, which the players made at an All-Star practice last week.

$400 Wager Goes Against League Rules

The video shows the players wagering $400 on the winner of the Kings vs. Atlanta Dream on Wednesday. The friendly wager is far from the betting scandal that has engulfed the NBA this year.

However, it does violate the league’s gambling policy. League rules state, “Any player found by the Commissioner after a hearing to have been guilty of wagering (directly or indirectly), or of offering or attempting to wager, money or anything of value on the outcome, score, or any other aspect of any WNBA Competition shall, in the sole discretion of the Commissioner, be subject to a fine, suspension, and/or dismissal and disqualification from any further association with the WNBA.”

The operator of the WNBA official X account did not appear to understand this when posting the video.

Reese Laughs Off Bet in Press Conference

The players also did not seem to acknowledge that they had broken league rules and could face punishments. In addition to Bueckers’ attempts to laugh off the bet, Reese also made light of the situation in a post-game press conference.

Reese’s Atlanta team won 82-81, meaning she also won the bet. She fielded questions from a reporter and laughed at the mention of a “discussion with Paige” before the game. She added that she would be “requesting my Apple Pay” to collect on the wager.

Betting Companies Appeal to Female Bettors

Sportsbooks have increasingly targeted female bettors, including promotions specifically encouraging women to wager on the WNBA.

“We see a larger growth in females engaged in gambling, partly because of the social acceptability of it, and that it’s everywhere through advertising and things like that,” said Michelle Malkin, an East Carolina University professor who leads the school’s Gambling Research & Policy Initiative.

The incident could now go either way. The WNBA may, like the players, attempt to dismiss the case as a friendly wager with no risks to sporting integrity, or it could come down hard with fines and suspensions.

Whatever the immediate fallout, Reese and Bueckers have likely secured lucrative advertising deals with gambling companies when their on-court careers come to an end.