On Oct. 23, NBA Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers Damon Jones were arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into rigged poker games and illegal sports gambling. The three have been indicted for wire fraud and money laundering.
Billups has been indicted for the rigged poker games, Rozier for the fraudulent NBA game bets and Jones is a defendant for both charges. The arrests of Billups, Rozier and Jones continue a disheartening trend in sports gambling.
Players from all of the “Big Four” sports leagues have been caught in gambling scandals; however, the big difference with the current arrests is the involvement of federal authorities.
The charges against the two were well summarized in a press conference following the arrests. “This is the insider trading saga for the NBA,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
One of the bets that is increasingly popular now is prop bets. A bettor can bet on events in the game, such as how many points a player scores. Rozier is alleged to have collaborated with bettors to take his under on his props. He would then pull himself out of a game with an “injury” to make sure the unders hit.
Jones is alleged to have leaked information on player availability that was used to bet on moneylines, which pick the winning or losing team in a game. Jones would allegedly tell people to bet the moneyline for the opposing team because of this prominent player being out.
There have been previous instances in the NBA of this same scheme. On April 17, 2024, then Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA.
While there have been gambling scandals across leagues, the NBA has seemingly had the most, especially since sports gambling was widely legalized.
It does make some sense, as basketball has been considered one of the easiest sports to rig for unders. One can “miss” a free throw, remove oneself early from a game, errantly turnover a ball and a host of things that would not necessarily be flagged.
The fact that this unusual betting activity has been flagged is important. Many advocates, including current NBA commissioner Adam Silver, argue for legalized and regulated sports gambling.
The thought is that legalizing sports gambling would allow for illegal activities to be caught more easily.
This scandal has already brought some meaningful impacts, especially on ESPN. During one of their flagship morning talk shows, “Get Up!,” the panel addressed the scandal.
While this conversation was going on, an advertisement for ESPN’s sportsbook, ESPN Bet was showing. Someone realized this and removed the ad from the corner of the ticker.
On Nov. 6, ESPN Bet announced that it would be ending its partnership with the company Penn and shift to partnering with DraftKings. The events have had no impact on NBA viewership, but viewership has gone up this season.
“National NBA games are averaging the most viewers in 15 years through the first two weeks of the season, up 92% year-over-year,” wrote NBA Communications on X.
One case that could provide a groundwork for how the case unfolds comes from the MLB. In July, then Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clasewere both placed on administrative leave due to unusual gambling activity. This stemmed from their first pitches being out of the strike zone to be called balls consistently.
The two have both been indicted and face up to 65 years in prison.
In the gambling sphere, Major League Baseball and sportsbooks have agreed to a $200 limit on specific pitches being balls or strikes. While the majority of the blame has been put on the players for their actions, some believe that it should be given to the leagues.
Gambling is lucrative and the leagues get a financial boost from it. So promoting it helps the leagues make more money.
The NBA flagged unusual betting activity surrounding Rozier in March 2023, but did not find enough to clearly fine him or clear him. During this time, the Miami Heat traded for Rozier, giving up a first-round pick in the process.
The Miami Heat reportedly did not know about the ongoing investigation. If it did, it likely would not have traded for Rozier.
These scandals are not the end of sports gambling, but they could be a step in prevention.
With the federal government getting involved, it seems that this is being taken more seriously going forward.
