NBA memo says league education needed about 'dire risks' of gambling
Following last week’s arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, the National Basketball Association on Monday said it's undertaking a review of how the league can protect itself from sports betting and whether it's doing enough to educate coaches, players and other personnel about the "dire risks" gambling could pose to their careers, according to an NBA league memo obtained by ABC News.
The memo, dated Monday and sent to all 30 teams from NBA general counsel Rick Buchanan and Dan Spillane, the NBA's EVP of League Governance and Policy, said that the criminal cases against Billups, Rozier and more than two dozen other defendants “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 also said the NBA is reviewing policies about injury reporting after Rozier allegedly faked an injury in a March 23, 2023, game, when he played with the Charlotte Hornets, after, according to investigators, giving advance notice to gamblers who made $200,000 in bets against his statistics.
"While the unusual betting [on the 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," the memo said.
Billups is among those charged last week in an alleged illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia, while Rozier is among several people charged in a separate but related alleged illegal gambling case. Billups has been charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy and both were immediately placed on leave by their teams, the NBA said.
Monday's memo further said that the NBA is "exploring ways to enhance our existing internal and external integrity monitoring programs" including the use of "AI and other tools" to "identify betting activity of concern."
"With sports betting now occupying such a significant part of the current sports landscape, 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; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment from bettors," according to the memo.
