MLS Issues Lifetime Bans to Two Players for Extensive Gambling on Own Matches

Major League Soccer handed down lifetime suspensions to former Columbus Crew teammates Derrick Jones and Yaw Yeboah for betting on their own games, including a specific wager on Jones receiving a yellow card.

The Investigation Unfolds

The scandal came to light after MLS received suspicious betting alerts through its integrity partners in October 2025. The league immediately placed both Jones, 29, and Yeboah, 28, on administrative leave while launching a comprehensive investigation through law firm Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP.

What investigators uncovered was damning evidence of ‘extensive gambling on soccer, including on their own teams, during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.’ The most egregious example occurred during an October 19, 2024 match between the Columbus Crew and New York Red Bulls, where both players bet on Jones to receive a yellow card. Jones was indeed booked in the 35th minute, and the Crew won 3-2.

The investigation also revealed that the players likely shared confidential information with outside bettors about their intentions to draw yellow cards, though no evidence suggested their activities affected match outcomes.

Career Paths and Current Status

Jones had bounced around several MLS franchises throughout his career, representing five different teams including the Philadelphia Union, Nashville SC, Houston Dynamo FC, and Charlotte FC before joining Columbus in 2024. The Ghanaian-born midfielder appeared in 23 games across 2024 and 2025 but saw limited action in his final season with just three appearances.

Yeboah started his MLS career with the Crew in 2022 and became a club legend by scoring in the 2023 MLS Cup final victory. He transferred to Los Angeles FC in 2025, earning $550,000 in guaranteed compensation and scoring one goal with one assist in 17 appearances. Following his contract termination with LAFC in January, he signed with Chinese Super League club Qingdao Hainiu in February.

Neither player currently holds an MLS contract, with Jones remaining unsigned after Columbus declined his option in November.

League’s Push for Betting Reform

MLS Commissioner Don Garber used the announcement to advocate for broader changes in sports betting regulations. ‘The League will continue to enforce its policies, enhance education efforts, and advocate for the elimination of yellow card wagering in all states to protect the integrity of our competition,’ he stated.

The league has already made significant progress in this area, successfully lobbying 33 out of 41 jurisdictions that allow sports betting to prohibit wagers on yellow and red cards. Fifteen of these jurisdictions changed their rules specifically after outreach from MLS, according to league officials.

This represents part of a broader challenge facing North American sports leagues since the legalization of sports betting. The NBA banned former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter for life in 2024 for similar violations, while two Cleveland Guardians pitchers face federal charges related to pitch-rigging schemes involving prop bets.

Industry-Wide Implications

The Jones-Yeboah case highlights the ongoing struggle between sports leagues and betting operators over proposition bets that can be easily manipulated by players. MLB previously placed a $200 limit on pitch-level markets after the Guardians scandal, while the NBA eliminated ‘under’ prop bets for players on 10-day or two-way contracts.

MLS has implemented comprehensive education programs requiring all players to undergo training on gambling policies and sign agreements acknowledging betting restrictions. The league maintains commercial partnerships with sports betting firm DraftKings and prediction market platform Polymarket, making the integrity issues particularly sensitive.

This isn’t MLS’s first gambling-related discipline. The league previously suspended Sporting Kansas City‘s Felipe Hernandez in 2021 for betting violations, then terminated his contract in 2024 for repeat offenses. The lifetime bans for Jones and Yeboah represent the harshest penalties the league has imposed for gambling violations to date.