NBA and Players Association willing to look into limiting player prop bets

The NBA has had its fair share of gambling-related issues over the last year, as three players are under federal investigation for manipulating their performance to benefit others in the sports betting space. As a result, the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have announced that they will look into limitations on certain types of bets — namely player props — with the aim of reducing the risk of both manipulation on the court by players and player abuse by gamblers off of it. 

“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.”

Jontay Porter, the brother of star Brooklyn Nets forward Michael Porter Jr., was banned by NBA commissioner Adam Silver last year after it was discovered Porter had manipulated his performance in two games while with the Toronto Raptors. Porter admitted to pulling himself out of two games during the 2023-24 season in order to help with wagers made by two associates of his who bet Unders on some of his player props for those games. Porter has pleaded guilty to federal charges. 

Two other NBA players, Terry Rozier and Malik Beasley, are also being investigated as part of an inquiry at the federal level, and as of now, neither player has been charged.

The NBA has taken steps to try to curb gambling influencing players on the court, such as asking sportsbooks the league is partnered with not to allow prop bets on players on two-way contracts, like Porter was with the Raptors at the time. 

The NBPA believes the Porter situation was an outlier event and has seen no evidence of other performance manipulation in the league. The union is concerned that players may be subjected to abuse or threats online by disgruntled gamblers who have lost bets due to player performance.

“NBA players compete at the highest level with the utmost integrity and 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. “If tighter regulations can help minimize that abuse, then we support taking a closer look at them.”

This is the NBA’s biggest gambling-related scandal in nearly two decades. Back in 2007, longtime NBA referee Tim Donaghy was banned after it was revealed he was betting on NBA games he officiated and made calls to help with his wagers. He was sentenced to more than a year in prison. 

The NBA isn’t the only league dealing with this sort of issue right now. 

In MLB, two Cleveland Guardians pitchers, starter Luis Ortiz and All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, have been suspended recently due to allegedly manipulating their performance to help associates win prop bets. Both pitchers threw balls well outside the strike zone, with some landing in the dirt in front of the plate. Meanwhile, betting activity was flagged regarding prop bets on whether their first pitch of that inning would be a ball or a strike. This led to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine proposing a ban on microbet props. New Jersey has also taken steps to ban prop bets on college athletics as well as “next play” bets, among other props. MLB is discussing the prop bet and microbet issue, per ESPN, in the wake of the Guardians scandal.