NBA player banned for suspected betting ties, reaches out to federal authorities

The NBA announced on Wednesday that it has banned the Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter from playing in the league after an investigation found that he allegedly violated rules involving betting.

The 24-year-old center — who was a two-way player, playing for the Raptors and the Raptors’ G League team — played in 26 games this season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, according to ESPN.

In a statement, the NBA said that the investigation found that “prior to the Raptors’ March 20 game, Porter disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor.”

“Another individual with whom Porter associated and knew to be an NBA bettor subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sports book, to win $1.1 million, wagering that Porter would underperform in the March 20 game,” the NBA said. “The league’s investigation also found that Porter limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game. In the March 20 game, Porter played only three minutes, claiming that he felt ill. Due to the unusual betting activity and actions of the player, the $80,000 proposition bet was frozen and was not paid out.”

While playing on the Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate in March, Porter allegedly “placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account,” the statement said. “These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000, for a total of $54,094. The total payout from these bets was $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965. None of the bets involved any game in which Porter played. Three of the bets were multi-game parlay bets that included one Raptors game, in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. All three bets lost.”

The NBA said that licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets were responsible for bringing the suspicious bets to the league’s attention.

The league said that it has turned over its findings to federal law enforcement officials and will continue to cooperate with authorities.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said: “There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment.”

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“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players,” he added. “Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”