The NBA is taking major steps to strengthen its gambling oversight after a shocking week that saw Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups arrested by the FBI. The league has sent a memo to all 30 teams announcing enhanced systems to flag “betting activity of concern,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported.
In the memo, the league wrote it believes there is “more that can be done” to “protect the integrity of the NBA.”
“Given the spread of legal betting to the majority of U.S. states, the recurrence of integrity issues across sports, and the emergence of novel betting formats and markets, this is an opportune time to carefully reassess how sports betting should be regulated and how sports leagues can best protect themselves, their players, and their fans,” the memo read. “While the unusual betting on Terry Rozier’s ‘unders’ in the March 2023 game was detected in real time because the bets were placed legally, we believe there is more that can be done from a legal/regulatory perspective to protect the integrity of the NBA and our affiliated leagues. In particular, proposition bets on individual player performance involve heightened integrity concerns that require additional scrutiny.”
The memo added, “We have also begun a process of reviewing league policies regarding injury reporting, the training and education of all NBA personnel, and safety measures for NBA players.”
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics recently urged the league to protect players from the growing influence of gambling, saying there had been “little to no conversation” around player safety in this space.
The league’s memo appears to address that concern directly: “Every effort must be made to ensure that players, coaches and other NBA personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods… and that players are protected from harassment from bettors.”
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