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The NBA told its 30 teams on Monday that it had launched a study 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 that was the subject of an FBI investigation.
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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Class of 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Chauncey Billups speaks during a news conference at the Hall of Fame at Mohegan Sun, October 12, 2024, in Uncasville, Connecticut. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, file)
“Given the spread of legal betting in the majority of U.S. states, the recurrence of integrity issues in sports, and the emergence of new betting formats and markets, this is an opportune time to carefully reevaluate how sports betting should be regulated and how sports leagues can best protect themselves, their players, and their fans,” reads the memo from the NBA Legal Department to the team, 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 betting on the Charlotte game in question, including prop bets involving Rozier. The bets were reported and immediately brought to the league’s attention. The league initially cleared Rozier of any wrongdoing.
“Although Terry Rozier’s unusual under bets during the March 2023 game were detected in real time because the bets were placed legally, we believe we can do more from a legal/regulatory perspective to protect the integrity of the NBA and our affiliated leagues,” the league said.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) watches the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Sunday, March 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, file)
ARRESTS OF NBA’S TERRY ROZIER AND CHAUNCEY BILLUPS LATEST CHAPTER OF GAMBLING SCANDAL IN WORLD OF SPORTS
“In particular, proposals for betting on individual player performances involve heightened integrity concerns and require further review.”
The league said it would review injury reports as part of its investigation. Jones was accused of informing his associates of the injury status of LeBron James and Anthony Davis before a Los Angeles Lakers game. There was no indication that James or Davis knew about what Jones was accused of.
“With sports betting now occupying such a large part of today’s sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that NBA players, coaches and other personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose on their careers and livelihoods; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment by bettors,” the league added.
A congressional committee has asked NBA Commissioner Adam Silver for a briefing by the end of the week to discuss topics such as “what gaps, if any, there are in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks before the Paris Games 2025 NBA basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers at Accor Arena on January 23, 2025. (Stéphanie Lecocq/Reuters via Imagn Images)
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Silver maintained that he would prefer federal regulation of sports betting rather than the current state-by-state approach.
