By Frank Pingue
(Reuters) -The NBA is reassessing how sports betting is regulated and how leagues can best protect themselves, players and fans in the wake of a player and coach being arrested in connection with an illegal gambling probe.
The review was outlined in a memo that the NBA’s legal department sent on Monday to all 30 teams, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
“Given the spread of legal betting to the majority of U.S. states, the recurrence of integrity issues across sports and the emergence of novel betting formats and markets, this is an opportune time to carefully reassess how sports betting should be regulated and how sports leagues can best protect themselves, their players and their fans,” the memo stated.
GAMBLING INVESTIGATIONS
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones were among more than 30 people charged last week in connection with two separate but related federal gambling investigations.
Rozier and Jones were alleged to have provided non-public information about games to allow criminal partners to set up bets on the outcome of games, or performances of individual players through proposition bets.
Federal officials allege Rozier conspired with associates to help them win bets based on his statistical performance in a game he left early due to “purported injury”.
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups was charged in a separate case involving alleged rigging of high-stakes poker games.
“Chauncey Billups has never and would never gamble on basketball games, provide insider information, or sacrifice the trust of his team and the league,” his attorney said in a statement.
Rozier’s attorney said his client was previously cleared by the NBA, and accused prosecutors of reviving a “non-case.” Reuters was unable to reach legal representation for Jones.
‘DIRE RISKS’
The high-profile arrests highlighted the potential risks posed by the close relationship the four major North American men’s sports leagues have cultivated with legalized betting in the United States.
According to the memo, the league is particularly concerned with proposition bets on individual player performance.
“While the unusual betting on Terry Rozier’s ‘unders’ in the March 2023 game was detected in real time because the bets were placed legally, we believe there is more that can be done from a legal/regulatory perspective to protect the integrity of the NBA and our affiliated leagues,” read the memo.
“In particular, proposition bets on individual player performance involve heightened integrity concerns and require additional scrutiny.”
According to the memo, the NBA said that with sports betting occupying a significant part of the current sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players and coaches are aware of the “dire risks” that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods.
COMPROMISE INTEGRITY
The Supreme Court in 2018 paved the way for states to legalize sports betting. The NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball and National Hockey League had long opposed legalization, fearing it would compromise the integrity of their games.
Now, professional sports and online betting platforms are enmeshed in a tight embrace, with ads blanketing television broadcasts and sportsbooks available to fans on their phones and inside arenas and stadiums.
Former NBA player Jontay Porter was banned from the NBA for life and pleaded guilty in 2024 after he was accused of manipulating his performance to help associates win wagers on his play.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Additional reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Comments