Feds Reportedly Looking at Other NBA Games in Gambling Investigation

Federal prosecutors investigating illicit sports betting involving the NBA are reportedly looking into more games than the seven NBA games listed in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) indictment from last autumn, according to a New York Times story.

Terry Rozier, a guard for the Miami Heat, has entered a not guilty plea to allegations that he deceived gamblers by manipulating his on-court performance while playing for the Charlotte Hornets in 2023. Then, gamblers placed $200K in prop bets on the game's "under" statistics.

Six Men Arrested for Illegal Gambling

Rozier was one of six men detained in the fall of last year for allegedly conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering in order to profit from illicit betting activities by using insider information from NBA players and coaches, according to federal authorities.

The Hornets game on March 23, 2023; the Portland Trail Blazers game on March 24, 2023; the Orlando Magic game on April 6, 2023; the Los Angeles Lakers games on February 9, 2023, and January 15, 2024; and the Toronto Raptors games on January 26, 2024, and March 20, 2024. Insider information given to gamblers by "an NBA coach at the time," "an inside connection to then Orlando Magic player" and coach Damon Jones, and former NBA players Jontay Porter and Rozier were also included in the indictment.

FBI Crackdown

Government officials are investigating further games beyond the seven that might have involved gamblers associated with Rozier and Porter, who admitted to conspiracy to conduct wire fraud after withdrawing from those Raptors games, according to the Times article. Porter was banned by the NBA in 2024 and is currently awaiting punishment.

According to the article, information regarding the number of other games under investigation and if other players were engaged has not yet been made public. Timothy McCormack, a gambler who federal prosecutors claim cheated sports betting platforms by making illegal wagers based on nonpublic information, was the first defendant linked to the conspiracy involving Rozier and Porter to receive a sentence last week from a federal judge in Brooklyn.

Porter is awaiting sentencing

McCormack, who discussed his addiction to gambling, personally bet on the seven games in issue before entering a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud and receiving a two-year prison sentence. According to the Times report, which quoted an assistant US Attorney for the Eastern District, McCormack was placing bets on additional games that have not yet been made public, and the federal investigation is still underway.

In addition to the six guys in Rozier's indictment, an alleged illegal poker scam involving Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and other individuals was part of the huge FBI crackdown that led to Rozier's arrest in October.

Members of the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese organized crime families were allegedly involved in this scheme, which involved rigged poker games using an X-ray table that read cards face down on the table and a shuffle machine that could count cards. All of this information was fed to a control room, where players were then tricked out of thousands of dollars.

The NBA has put Rozier and Billups on leave.