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David Purdum
In the wake of the NBA betting scandal, the league and its partner sportsbooks continue to review what types of bets are most vulnerable to manipulation and how much bettors should be allowed to wager on such bets, sources familiar with the discussions told ESPN on Thursday.
Before the season, the NBA identified missed free throws, fouls and turnovers as types of wagers susceptible to manipulation and asked its partner sportsbooks not to offer those bets, according to the sources. FanDuel and DraftKings told ESPN that they had agreed to the NBA’s request. FanDuel did not offer such wagers in past seasons; DraftKings had offered in-game betting on players making or missing free throws, but those offerings were not available before a game.
The discussions, which are ongoing, also include what limits are appropriate for wagers that are most vulnerable to manipulation, the sources said. Betting limits on player prop bets are typically lower than on the point spread on a game, for example.
“Prop bets on individual player performance can raise heightened integrity concerns and warrant additional scrutiny,” an NBA spokesperson told ESPN, adding that the league will continue to work closely with its sportsbook partners and evaluate current offerings on an ongoing basis.
Prop bets on player statistics, such as the over/under on points or rebounds, are under increased scrutiny after federal authorities alleged that veteran NBA guard Terry Rozier conspired with gamblers in a scheme centered on his props.
According to the indictment, Rozier informed a childhood friend of his plans to remove himself early from a March 2023 game, and the friend allegedly sold the information to gamblers for approximately $100,000.
Sportsbooks reported receiving an influx of betting interest on the under on Rozier’s statistics ahead of the game, enough to cause bookmakers to take his prop bets off the board hours ahead of time. Rozier played just over nine minutes before leaving the game, citing a foot injury. The indictment alleges that bettors were able to wager $257,700 on the under on Rozier’s statistics for the game, spread across multiple sportsbooks.
On the morning of the game, a bettor at a Mississippi sportsbook placed 30 bets all on the under on Rozier’s statistics, totaling $13,759, according to betting records obtained by ESPN in July.
DraftKings said the betting scandal shows how the industry is effectively monitoring for suspicious betting activity.
“Recent events demonstrate that the regulated sports betting industry is working as intended — fostering an environment of collaboration between operators, leagues, regulators, law enforcement and integrity monitoring services to help uncover suspicious activity,” a DraftKings spokesperson told ESPN in a statement.
FanDuel said that it maintains an open dialogue with the leagues and that its risk and trading team monitors games for integrity issues.
“From the start, our collaboration with the NBA has helped us determine what bets not to offer, like fouls, turnovers or missed free throws, and in partnership with the league, we’ve been able to evolve our offering, including removing props on players with two-way or ten-day contracts,” a FanDuel spokesperson told ESPN in a statement.
Ahead of the 2024-25 season, the NBA asked sportsbooks not to offer betting on the under on players on two-way or 10-day contracts after former Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter, who was on a two-way contract, was banned from the league for his alleged participation in a gambling scheme based on his prop bets. Porter admitted to manipulating his performance in two games during the 2023-24 season so that his bettors could profit on unders. Some of the same bettors charged in the Porter scheme were named in the indictment involving Rozier last week.
Player prop bets have become increasingly popular, particularly in the NBA, and represent a growing percentage of the amount wagered on basketball. They are especially popular in parlays, which increase payout amounts on winning bets.
Although its partner sportsbooks might acquiesce to requests to remove certain bets, the NBA does not have as much influence over what daily fantasy operators, prediction markets and offshore sportsbook operators offer.
The Sports Betting Alliance, a lobbying group that represents major U.S. sportsbooks, said any blanket ban on prop bets would push bettors toward illegal and unregulated platforms that “lack oversight, offer no consumer protections and refuse to cooperate with integrity investigations.”
“That creates a dangerous blind spot for regulators and leagues, preventing them from effectively identifying and addressing threats to game integrity,” Jeremy Kudon, SBA president, told ESPN in a statement.