This is a guest contribution by Brian Saady. If you would like to submit a contribution please contact Bill Beatty for submission details. Thank you.

The ultimate “insider” in the world of sports betting, Billy Walters, was sentenced last week to five years in prison for leading an insider trading scheme. Understandably, this was a well-publicized case because Walters had received nonpublic information from a board member of Dean Foods. Walters also passed some of this information along to his personal friend, Phil Mickelson, who profited over $1 million from these tips.

However, by not pinning gambling charges on Billy Walters, this was a seemingly a bittersweet victory for some government officials. State and federal officials have tried to lock up Billy Walters for decades.

After a misdemeanor bookmaking conviction in 1982, he’s been indicted four times in high-profile gambling cases and beat the charges each time. Needless to say, those results have been embarrassing for the law enforcement community.