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Allowing players to gamble is a mobster's dream come true. All they need is one guy to lose a little too much and get desperate. They don't even offer the guy money. They offer to forgive all of his debt. All he has to do is shave points in a game for them and he's out of debt.
Henry Hill (Goodfellas fame) was involved in a point-shaving scandal with Boston College men's basketball. Henry said all they have to do is get you to shave points once, and they own you. After that they'll demand you shave points in every single game you play. If you won't play along, they'll let it go public that you participated in a point shaving scandal. So the players go along with it and it just gets worse and worse.
The league knows this is how it works and they'll make an example of anyone that violates the rule. The point is not to get the player to never do it again, but to put the fear of God into all of the other players.
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