NBA memo sheds light on league’s integrity concerns after gambling-related arrests
The NBA told its 30 teams on Monday it had launched a review into how the league could protect the integrity of the game and its players after two figures were placed on leave for their alleged roles in a gambling scheme, which was investigated by the FBI.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were among those arrested in the FBI operation. Former NBA player and coach Damon Jones was also arrested.
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“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 from the NBA’s legal department to the team read, according to The Associated Press.
Rozier was accused of conspiring with associates to help them win bets based on statistical performance in a game he was playing for the Charlotte Hornets in March 2023.
Sportsbooks detected an unusual pattern of wagers on the Charlotte game in question, including prop bets involving Rozier. The bets were flagged and immediately brought to the league’s attention. The league initially cleared Rozier of any wrongdoing.
“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,” the league said.
“In particular, proposition bets on individual player performance involve heightened integrity concerns and require additional scrutiny.”
The league said it would take a look at injury reports as part of its investigation. Jones was accused of tipping off associates to the injury status of LeBron James and Anthony Davis before a Los Angeles Lakers game. There was no indication that James or Davis had any knowledge of what Jones was accused of doing.
“With sports betting now occupying such a significant part of the current sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players, coaches, and other NBA personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment from bettors,” the league added.
A Congressional committee asked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for a briefing by the end of this week to discuss topics including how “gaps, if any, in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur.”
Silver has maintained that he would prefer federal regulation on sports betting instead of the current state-by-state approach.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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