NBA imposes drastic measures and rules on teams
Following the scandal that shook the NBA in October over illegal betting, the league is revising part of its regulations and introducing new restrictions.
The investigation that rocked the NBA continues to have serious repercussions for the North American basketball league.
In an effort to prevent similar incidents in the future, the league has issued a direct communication to teams, informing them of changes to its policies aimed at ensuring that injury information is properly disclosed and not misused by sports bettors.
According to The New York Times, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones were accused of distributing injury-related information to bettors, who then used those insights to place prop bets or resell the information to other gamblers—an issue that has raised broader concerns across the betting ecosystem, from regulated sportsbooks to promotional platforms offering incentives (see the best casino rewards heres).
From now on, teams will be required to submit an official injury report on game days between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
The NBA will also update its public injury reports on its website every 15 minutes (currently, they are updated hourly), significantly increasing transparency.
Finally, the NBA stated that it will “support” the introduction of restrictions on player proposition bets and will work with industry stakeholders, including sports betting companies.
The League Tightens Rules in the Betting Market
Among the changes the league says it is considering are limits on “under” bets, a maximum stake that can be placed on player prop bets, restrictions on the types of players eligible for such wagers, and the elimination of what it describes as “problematic bet types.”
“At the core of the NBA’s position is the belief that sports leagues should have control over the types of bets offered on their games,” the statement said.
“Since leagues currently do not have such control, any changes will need to be pursued through negotiations with sports betting companies, requests to state gambling regulators, legislative action, or a combination of these approaches.”
The NBA is responding to cases involving Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones.
All three were arrested in October on gambling-related charges.
Federal prosecutors allege that Rozier and Jones were involved in sports betting schemes designed to manipulate player statistics for the benefit of certain bettors. Billups and Jones are also alleged to have been involved in manipulating high-stakes poker games.
All three have pleaded not guilty.
