Is Sports Fixed? Declan Hill

Is Sports Fixed? Declan Hill

From Chatter that Matters by Tony Chapman

March 5, 2026 · 40 min · Season 4 · Episode 280

About this episode

Declan Hill discusses the pervasive issue of sports fixing and its implications for fans and society.

Have you ever considered that the sports you are watching are fixed? This episode ois appointment listening for Sports fans, sports gamblers and concerned parents, and an eye-opening story for anyone interested in how pervasive organized crime has woven into our society. My guest this week is Declan Hill, Oxford-educated and author of The Fix. Declan is world-renowned as an investigative journalist who has infiltrated organized crime fixing rings to understand how the world of sports fixing actually works and why the extensive marketing efforts to encourage more people to gamble on sports have added more fuel to the fire. Sports thrive on uncertainty. The drama, the underdog, the last-second miracle, the feeling that nobody knows what comes next. But what happens when that uncertainty gets hijacked — when outcomes are fixed not just in final scores, but in moments you barely notice? In this interview, we dig into match-fixing and spot-fixing, prop bets and micro-bets, and why Declan believes a major American sports league is heading toward an existential crisis within five years. We also talk about how that 'casino in your pocket' is affecting athletes, fans, and young people's…

People in this episode

Host: Tony Chapman

Guest: Declan Hill

Topics covered

  • sports fixing
  • organized crime
  • gambling addiction
  • investigative journalism
  • sports psychology

Keywords

  • sports fixing
  • gambling
  • organized crime
  • match-fixing
  • sports psychology
  • Declan Hill

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Oxford

Books & works: The Fix

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