NBA Reviews Injury Reporting and Prop-Betting Rules After FBI Arrests
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The NBA has begun a comprehensive review of its injury-reporting procedures and gambling safeguards in response to last week’s FBI arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA guard Damon Jones, according to a league memo obtained by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Dated Oct. 27, the memo tells all 30 clubs that the league is re-examining how injuries are disclosed, how personnel are trained on gambling issues and how betting activity is monitored both inside and outside the league. The document says the NBA is looking to “enhance internal and external monitoring programs to identify suspicious betting activity.”
Focus on injury intel
Injury reporting has drawn particular scrutiny because of allegations that Billups and Jones shared sensitive player-availability information for betting purposes. Prosecutors say Billups told a co-conspirator before a March 24, 2023 game that Portland planned to “tank” and that a star guard—believed to be Damian Lillard—would sit. Jones allegedly informed an associate before the Los Angeles Lakers’ Feb. 9, 2023 matchup with Milwaukee that LeBron James would not play, encouraging a wager on the Bucks. James was reportedly unaware that his status had been revealed.
League rules require teams to file an injury report the day before every game, but the final update is not released until shortly before tip-off, creating a window in which inside information can be exploited.
Prop-bet concerns
The memo also cites Rozier’s case as an example of the risks tied to proposition wagers on individual performances. Authorities allege the guard removed himself from a March 2023 contest so that “under” bets on his statistical totals would cash. While the NBA previously cleared Rozier, the memo says prop bets involve “heightened integrity concerns and require additional scrutiny.”
Commissioner Adam Silver noted last week that federal investigators possess broader powers than the league to pursue such cases. He has publicly expressed growing unease over the expansion of single-player wagering markets.
No timeline was given for when new policies might take effect, but the league told teams it will continue working with regulators, sportsbooks and integrity firms as the review moves forward.
Source: Hoops Rumors
