The NBA is launching a comprehensive review of sports betting regulations amid growing concerns over integrity and player safety following the arrests of a player and a coach in an illegal gambling investigation.
The league’s legal department detailed the initiative in a memo sent Monday to all 30 teams, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.
“With legal sports betting now widespread across most U.S. states, the recurrence of integrity issues in various sports, and the rise of new betting formats and markets, this is an important moment to re-evaluate how betting should be governed – and how leagues can best safeguard themselves, their players and their fans,” the memo said.
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 allegedly provided nonpublic information about games to allow criminal partners to place bets on game outcomes or individual player performances through proposition wagers.
Federal officials said Rozier conspired with associates to help them win bets based on his statistical performance in a game he left early due to a “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.
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 more can be done from a legal and regulatory perspective to protect the integrity of the NBA and our affiliated leagues,” the memo said.
“In particular, proposition bets on individual player performance involve heightened integrity concerns and require additional scrutiny.”
The NBA added that with sports betting now a significant part of the modern sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players and coaches are aware of the “dire risks” gambling poses to their careers and livelihoods.
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 deeply intertwined, with ads saturating television broadcasts and sportsbooks available to fans on their phones and inside arenas and stadiums.
Former NBA player Jontay Porter was banned for life and pleaded guilty in 2024 after being accused of manipulating his performance to help associates win wagers on his play.
