Federal Investigators Expand NBA Gambling Probe To Additional Games
Federal prosecutors are investigating more NBA games beyond the seven that were listed in the unsealed Department of Justice indictment of alleged illegal sports betting in October, according to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov.
Federal NBA Gambling Investigation Remains Ongoing
The federal gambling probe led to the arrest of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, as it was directly connected to a previous arrest of ex-Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter for using the same prop bet scheme.
Rozier was charged this October for what prosecutors said was a role in a sports gambling ring that allowed sports bettors to place wagers on NBA games with non-public information.
Five other men were charged in the indictment.
“One of those men, Timothy McCormack, was sentenced to two years in federal prison last week for his part in the scheme to bet on both the games involving Porter and Rozier,” Vorkunov wrote. “He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after he personally placed bets on those games.
“Lawyers for the Eastern District said that their investigation is ongoing and that he was involved in other games that have not been made public yet.”
It’s unclear how many games are being investigated.
Terry Rozier Unveiled Confidential Information
Federal prosecutors allege that Rozier told a friend, Deniro Laster, he would leave a March 2023 game early so that he and others could win their wagers on his individual statistics, known as prop bets.
Laster then allegedly sold the confidential information to bettors for about $100,000. Rozier played just over nine minutes before leaving the game due to a foot injury.
Per the indictment, Rozier paid for Laster to travel to Philadelphia to collect the proceeds from the scheme before driving to Rozier’s home to count the money with him. Rozier and Laster were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
After the news broke, Rozier was placed on unpaid leave by the Heat and NBA. The league also moved to withhold his salary in an interest-bearing account.
Rozier was linked to unusual betting patterns earlier this month. If Rozier is cleared and allowed to return to the league, he would receive the held payments in full.
NBA Banned Jontay Porter For Life
Meanwhile, Porter was implicated for taking himself out early from two Raptors games during the 2023-24 season. He was charged and pleaded guilty in July 2024 and is awaiting sentencing.
Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA about two years ago.
Four other men were arrested for helping to plan the scheme and for placing wagers on his performances in Raptors games. Three have already pleaded guilty to their charges.
In the wake of the indictment, the NBA informed all 30 teams in December that it will be tweaking its injury reporting rules, sports betting policies, and tanking rules, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Teams will now have to resubmit injury listings on game day between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time. They will have to update public reports every 15 minutes on NBA.com instead of hourly, per Charania.
The NBA didn’t specify when the new policy will go into effect.
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