Jontay Porter receives lifetime ban from NBA amid gambling investigation

Jontay Porter receives lifetime ban from NBA amid gambling investigation

The NBA has issued a lifetime ban on Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter after an investigation found him violating league rules for “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes and betting on NBA games,” the league announced Wednesday.

Porter, the brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., was on a two-way contract with Toronto, before getting placed on leave when the league opened an investigation in late March.

According to the league’s investigation, Porter:

• Disclosed “confidential information” regarding own health, cohorted with another sports bettor to wager Porter’s unders in a March 20 game that he left after three minutes where he claimed he “felt ill.” The bettor allegedly bet $80K on the undisclosed parlay, which resulted in $1.1 million that was not paid out.
• Bet a total of $54,094 on at least 13 NBA games–ranking from $15 to $22K–using an “associate’s online account,” winning $21,965. None of the game were allegedly games that Porter played in.
• Bet on the Raptors to lose.

“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,” Silver said via release. “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. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”

The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/h2TIkaE7xs

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 17, 2024

As a sports bettor myself, it’s incredibly unfortunate, discouraging and, frankly, frustrating to see players throw away their careers because of a gambling problem, reason be damned.

This comes roughly 24 hours after Chase Howell of Action Network reported that Porter “owned and operated a VIP account at FanDuel in Colorado” that wagered millions from 2021-23, allegedly placing over 1,000 wagers and “firing all of the time.”

The league originally investigated due to wagers being placed on Porter for games on Jan. 26 and March 20. Here are where his prop totals closed at on DraftKings, per Betstamp, for both games:

• Jan. 26:
  • 6.5 points
  • 4.5 rebounds
  • 1.5 assists
  • 0.5 3-pointers
• March 20:
  • 8.5 points
  • 5.5 rebounds
  • 4.5 assists
  • 1.5 3-pointers

On Jan. 20 against the Los Angeles Clippers, he played four minutes, going scoreless with three rebounds and one assist; on March 20 against the Kings, he played just three minutes (after at least 21 minutes the previous four games), going scoreless once again with just two rebounds.

We’re in the midst of a sports gambling crisis. All of the advertisements and promotion makes users, like myself, even uncomfortable because it’s plastered on every conceivable corner. Sports gambling is only going to continue to grow, too, and it leaves me with plenty more questions than answers.

Report: ESPN may ban employees from wagering on ESPN Bet

It’s good to see Adam Silver take some initiative on maintaining the game’s integrity because this is a lesson learned, though it’s reasonable to be equally as frustrated with where his priorities lay with banning players due to gambling as opposed to, say, domestic violence.

Jontay Porter bet on his team to lose, but Miles Bridges is still in the NBA–the situations were not even close to being punished the same, and that’s a problem. Perhaps there will be a change in the future, but that also doesn’t explain what the heck happened with the latter’s leeway and other guilty abusers in the past.

Porter has a gambling problem, and he needs help; as do others with gambling addictions or substance abuse. But it’s incredibly unfortunate, in Porter’s case, that it reached this level. We know it won’t be the last time something like this happens across sports (it’s always been there, frankly), but let’s hope this deters other potential violators in the future.

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