The key facts

  • The NBA banned sportsbooks from offering bets on tip outcomes, player shot misses, and 'unders' for players projected under 12 minutes of playing time
  • The ban is linked to federal cases against Jontay Porter and Terry Rozier
  • New measures: sports betting rules training led by Charles Tillman and AI detection of suspicious patterns

New ban for sportsbooks

In a Friday memorandum, the NBA directed its sportsbook partners to prohibit, for the current season, certain bet types and parlays that featured in recent betting scandals, ESPN reported citing the document. The ban covers parlays with individual player statistics and 'under' bets on players mentioned in federal cases of gambling fraud involving NBA players Terry Rozier and Jontay Porter.

What exactly is banned

The league instructed authorized partners, including FanDuel and DraftKings, not to offer bets on the winner of the opening tip-off, on players missing specific shots, or 'unders' for players projected to play fewer than 12 minutes. Sportsbooks are also barred from posting lines with boosted payouts on 'under' bets. The NBA's agreements with partners allow the league to restrict the list of offered bets.

Balancing against the illegal market

'There is a balance between eliminating problematic bet types and not simply moving activity to the illegal market,' NBA vice president Scott Kaufman-Ross told ESPN. According to him, the league believes the solution found strikes the right balance between these two goals.

Context of the federal cases

According to federal prosecutors, one player placed $80,000 on the 'under' across six statistical categories of Jontay Porter in a Toronto Raptors game of the 2023/24 season, with a potential payout of $1.1 million. Porter admitted he deliberately left games in the interests of bettors. Prosecutors claim Rozier was involved in a similar scheme while with Charlotte in 2023, but Rozier has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.

Additional integrity measures

In a separate memorandum to teams, the NBA announced new integrity measures taking effect this season: former NFL star and retired FBI agent Charles Tillman will lead training on sports betting rules, and enhanced AI will monitor unusual betting patterns related to the league. The league said it aims to better protect players, coaches, and other staff from threats and harassment from bettors.