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David Purdum
A professional bettor placed 30 wagers in 46 minutes, all involving Terry Rozier in a 2023 NBA game, according to documents obtained by ESPN that reveal new details about the suspicious betting under scrutiny by federal investigators.
On the morning of March 23, 2023, a bettor at a sportsbook in Biloxi, Mississippi, placed $13,759 in bets on the unders on Rozier’s statistics in a game that night between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans, according to the documents, which ESPN acquired through an open records request. All 30 bets won, after Rozier, an eight-year veteran with the Hornets at the time, exited 10 minutes into the game, citing a foot issue.
In all, at least six sportsbooks in multiple states detected suspicious betting on Rozier props that day, with the bulk of the activity occurring in Louisiana and Mississippi, according to sources familiar with a report issued by U.S. Integrity, a firm that monitors the betting market for abnormalities.
The NBA investigated the unusual activity in 2023 and found that no league rules were violated. Two years later, Rozier is one of three NBA players known to have been under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Rozier has not been charged or accused of any wrongdoing.
The bettor in Biloxi placed the bets at Harrah’s Gulf Coast on the under on Rozier’s points, rebounds and assists, according to a list of wagers included in the documents. The largest bet, a $2,700 wager on under 5.5 rebounds for Rozier, was made over the counter, using a casino player’s card. The other 29 bets were placed on a self-serve betting kiosk, a few hundred dollars at a time, beginning at 9:37 a.m., before the sportsbook counter was open, according to the records.
Attempts to reach the bettor were unsuccessful.
Harrah’s Gulf Coast (Caesars) initially refused to pay the winning tickets, citing a house rule on “rigging” and suspicion of “inside information,” according to emails from the sportsbook to regulators obtained by ESPN. The casino asked the Mississippi Gaming Commission for permission to void the bets entirely.
“Has Caesars been able to come up with any evidence to support this being insider information?” a Mississippi Gaming Commission enforcement team leader asked the sportsbook in an email on April 5. “If not, the property which I believe is Harrah’s Gulf Coast/Caesars will need to pay out the wagers.”
A week later, on April 12, a Caesars representative informed the commission in an email that it was settling the wagers on Rozier. The bettor won a net $13,017.70.
Rozier, who was not listed on the Hornets’ pregame injury report, finished the game with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, all under the betting line on his statistics. He did not play the remainder of the season and was traded to the Miami Heat in January 2024.
Sources told ESPN that multiple sportsbooks in New Orleans also received heavier-than-expected action on the under on Rozier props, starting in the morning and lasting until midafternoon. At 2:24 p.m. the day of the game, U.S. Integrity sent a nationwide alert about “Suspicious Wagering Terry Rozier NBA Player Props,” according to documents ESPN obtained through another open records request.
Most prominent sportsbooks halted betting on Rozier props within an hour of the U.S. Integrity alert, according to an archived odds feed from betting analytics site Unabated.com.
League rules prohibit players from betting on the NBA or sharing non-public information with anyone “associated with gambling.” The NBA declined to comment.
Rozier’s attorney, Jim Trusty, said while the federal inquiry remains ongoing, his client is not a target of the investigation. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said in an email that they could not confirm or deny Rozier’s status in the investigation and declined further comment.
Trusty said Rozier met with NBA and FBI officials multiple times in 2023 and that the initial investigation determined that he had done nothing wrong.
“It’s unfortunate that he’s a big name in sports and is having to endure all this,” Trusty told ESPN. “My hope and expectation is that at some point that they’ll be done with their investigation and will be professional enough to let us know that it’s 100% over and that they reached the same conclusion that was reached in 2023.”
Rozier is part of the same federal gambling investigation that led to former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter being banned from the NBA. In July 2024, Porter pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and admitted to removing himself from two games during the 2023-24 NBA season to help bettors win wagers on the under on his props.
Four men, including Porter, have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the scheme, and two others are in plea negotiations with federal authorities, according to court documents.
Some of the same betting accounts that wagered on Porter also bet on Rozier props in the Hornets-Pelicans game, in addition to multiple college basketball games that were flagged for suspicious wagering activity over the past two seasons, gambling industry sources told ESPN.
Trusty said Rozier does not have a connection to any of the people implicated in the Porter case.
In June, ESPN reported that NBA veteran Malik Beasley is under investigation in a federal gambling inquiry out of the Eastern District of New York. Beasley has not been charged with any crime or accused of any wrongdoing.
A spokesperson for Caesars did not respond to a request for comment. The Mississippi Gaming Commission declined to comment.
