The NBA has come down with a hammer in the wake of a Jontay Porter gambling investigation and handed a lifetime ban. The league has been conducting an investigation for the last few weeks, and there was enough evidence to hand out this suspension.
Many around the industry had speculated that this punishment was coming after Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned it less than a week ago. Silver had the power and authority to levy this kind of punishment, and there was enough evidence to hand that down.
Not only did the league hand down this punishment, but it also announced that the investigation is still ongoing and that it is working with federal authorities. Porter’s actions included providing confidential information to bettors, actively influencing prop bets, and wagering on NBA games.
Even though the league has partnered with sportsbook operators, players and other members of the league have a strict no-gambling policy in place. Porter has not commented on the case since the allegations were first announced, but the evidence made it pretty clear that he was guilty of something.
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Sportsbooks Start the Process
The NBA first launched its investigation back in March after sportsbooks started to notice some irregular activity in NBA games that Porter appeared in. In two straight games, Porter played very limited minutes, and there was also significant betting action on those two games.
Porter reportedly revealed health information with a well-known NBA bettor, and that man then made an $80,000 parlay, betting all of the unders on the props available for Porter. The Toronto Raptors did not list Porter on the injured list, but he left after just three minutes with an illness.
DraftKings was the sportsbook that accepted that wager, but it did not pay out the $1.1 million that was won. Sportsbooks typically monitor sports betting action closely, and this was one game that stood out right away.
There was another game back in January in which Porter left after just four minutes of action, and significant betting action was made. The increase in betting action came from a couple of specific betting accounts that were located throughout the country.
U.S. Integrity is a firm that is based out of Las Vegas, and it was also keeping a close eye on some of these accounts. Since all of the big bets were focused on betting the unders on Porter props, it became clear that suspicious activity was taking place.
After becoming aware of this activity, the league immediately shut down Porter and started the investigation.
Porter Placed Wagers
Porter not only engaged in unusual activity regarding his playing time but also placed bets himself. The league found that Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games, and he was trying to hide it by using an account of an associate.
The 13 bets totaled $54,094 and ranged from $15 to $22,000. Porter won nearly $22,000, but he did not bet on any of the games in which he appeared.
Since Porter was bouncing back and forth between the Raptors and the G League, some of those bets came when he wasn’t even in the league. The announcement from the league did acknowledge that Porter bet on the Raptors to lose at least three times, all in a parlay.
Silver was the first commissioner of a major professional sports league to push for the legalization of sports betting, but integrity was always a major concern.
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