Report: Uwazurike gambling case under state review

Eyomi Uwazurike was expected to be reinstated later this month as the Broncos began training camp after serving a suspension for violation of the NFL’s gambling policy.

But for the Broncos defensive lineman, there appears to be a hitch in that plan.

According to a report from KUSA-Ch. 9, Arapahoe County prosecutors and the Colorado Department of Revenue are reviewing Uwazurike’s case to find out if any violations of Colorado gambling statues took place. The NFL is withholding a decision on reinstating Uwazruike until after the state and county complete their review, per sources cited in the report.

A fourth-round pick of the Broncos in 2022, Uwazurike had charges tied to an alleged involvement in a sports-gambling ring at Iowa State dropped in March.

However, the charges were dropped because evidence against Uwazurike and the other defendants was “obtained in a constitutionally permissible manner,” according to investigators from Story County, Iowa who initially filed the charges in the Iowa State gambling probe. The investigators used geo-location software in making their case.

The original Iowa charges alleged that Uwazurike had 32 bets on five Broncos games — one of which saw him play.

Last summer, Broncos coach Sean Payton expressed frustration regarding the league’s gambling plan — and the suspension of Uwazurike, which has kept him away from Broncos headquarters since it was issued.

“When you have a bunch of players getting D’s, you have to start looking at the message,” Payton said to Jarrett Bell of USA Today last July. “And we’ve had a lot of D’s in our league this year with this policy. And we’re going to send them home for a year, where they can’t be around. The idea that you just go away, shame on us.”

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