David Purdum
With three players involved in a federal gambling investigation, the NBA and its players association said this week that they support further limitations on certain types of bets to reduce the risk of manipulation and combat athlete abuse by gamblers.
“Protecting the integrity of our game is paramount, and we believe reasonable limitations on certain prop bets should be given due consideration,” an NBA spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “Any approach should aim to reduce the risk of performance manipulation while ensuring that fans who wish to place prop bets can continue to do so via legal, regulated markets.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver banned former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter from the league last April after finding that Porter had manipulated his performance in two games. Porter pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges last July and admitted in court to removing himself from two games during the 2023-24 season to benefit associates who had bet on the under on his statistics.
In reaction, the NBA asked its partner sportsbooks to stop allowing bettors to wager on the under on prop bets involving players on two-way contracts, like Porter was at the time of the alleged scheme. The league believes further limitations on prop bets may be warranted.
Porter is one of three NBA players, along with Terry Rozier and Malik Beasley, known to have been investigated as part of a federal gambling probe. Neither Rozier nor Beasley have been charged with a crime.
The National Basketball Players Association views the Porter case as an outlier and does not believe widespread manipulation exists in the league, according to a spokesperson. The NBPA is, however, concerned about the abuse athletes face from disgruntled bettors.
“[Players] are concerned that prop bets have become an increasingly alarming source of player harassment, both online and in person,” an NBPA spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. “If tighter regulations can help minimize that abuse, then we support taking a closer look at them.”
Two states — Ohio and New Jersey — have taken steps to prohibit certain prop bets. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called for a ban on so-called microbets-wagers placed on specific events during games — after two Cleveland Guardians pitchers were placed on leave amid a Major League Baseball investigation into suspicious betting activity on the result of select individual pitches during two games in June. DeWine asked for the support of major professional sports leagues and their players’ unions.
Major League Baseball is discussing the micro-bet issue, according to a source familiar with the matter. The MLBPA declined comment. The NFL and NFLPA also declined comment when contacted by ESPN.
In New Jersey, Assemblyman Dan Hutchinson introduced a bill aiming to eliminate micro-bets from betting menus at the state’s sportsbooks.
“I just think it’s going too far,” Hutchinson said in an interview with ESPN this week. “We’re going to corrupt our youth as well as corrupt the integrity of the sport.”