This may be tough to fix

A day after the NBA acknowledged one of its referees was being investigated by the FBI, there were lingering questions about the league’s present-day reputation and the future of gambling on NBA games in Las Vegas.

NBA Commissioner David Stern labeled Tim Donaghy in a written statement as “an individual who has betrayed the most sacred trust in professional sports,” but some crisis-management experts think the league will have to increase its damage control in the wake of allegations that Donaghy wagered on games in which he worked.

“It’s a major, major crisis,” said Ronn Torossian, president of New York-based 5W Public Relations. “The NFL’s problems have all been off the field and can be blamed on individuals. This is the institution rather than the individual. People aren’t going to remember Tim Donaghy’s name in a few days. People are going to remember the brand of the NBA, and that’s what David Stern should be concerned about.”

Stern said the league would hold a news conference with further details this week.

Las Vegas oddsmakers and sports-book officials are trying to keep the allegations against Donaghy at arm’s distance, saying his actions appear to be unrelated to the city’s numerous casinos because they would have noticed irregular wagering patterns.

Bettors, however, inherently believe the games on which they wager are fair, not fixed, which leaves sports books in a delicate situation: Will NBA fans open up their wallets and bet with the same vigor they had before Donaghy became a household name?

“I don’t see how there’s any relationship between that story and us right now,” said veteran oddsmaker John Avello of the Wynn resort.

In fact, at least one person thinks the FBI’s probe into the alleged gambling incident will help Las Vegas.

“I don’t want anyone’s bad fortune to cause us good fortune,” Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman told the Associated Press, “but I think it will cause people to look at Las Vegas in a light perhaps differently than they do, because we do in fact regulate this kind of activity. We’re the only regulatory agency in the world that really looks at unusual activity as far as the movement of the [betting] line and that type of conduct.”

Still, the Donaghy allegations can’t be enormously helpful for a city that someday hopes to harbor the league’s 31st team.

Las Vegas got a trial run of sorts by being allowed to host the NBA All-Star game in February, although the city’s sports books were not allowed to take bets on the game as a condition of holding it in Las Vegas.

Casinos have limited wagering in special situations, such as when teams and casinos are owned by the same entity. The Palms, a Las Vegas casino-hotel owned by the Maloof family, owners of the Sacramento Kings, does not take bets on NBA games as part of an agreement with the league.

Typically, though, there are few, if any, restrictions on NBA wagering in Las Vegas casinos.

NBA referees can theoretically manipulate final scores by calling more fouls, which stops the game clock and can send more players to the free-throw line.

An unidentified law-enforcement official quoted by the Associated Press said Donaghy made calls to affect the point spread in games where he or associates had placed bets.

The FBI probe also reportedly involves allegations that the referee had connections to organized-crime associates. Donaghy had a gambling problem, according to the law-enforcement official, and was approached by low-level mob associates through an acquaintance.

“People are going to ask, ‘Which games were [Donaghy] involved with?’ ” Torossian said. “People are going to look at the point spread and see what the score was. This is not going to go away any time soon. There are a lot of questions.”

Regardless of the outcome of the allegations against Donaghy, one principle probably remains true: The house always wins.

“The fans might lose, the NBA brand might lose, but casinos don’t lose,” Torossian said. “They might lose in the short term, but not in the long term. They’re always going to be a money-making operation.”

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com