Prominent NBA players and coaches are embroiled in two separate gambling controversies detailed by the FBI on Thursday.
The FBI announced it has arrested dozens of people as a result of years-long investigations into alleged illegal sports betting and rigged poker games, leading to the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones.
The three NBA personnel were among over 30 people arrested.
Billups is implicated in an illegal poker scheme with Mafia ties, while Rozier’s arrest relates to sports betting and performance manipulation. The two scandals had some overlap in personnel, and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. said at a news conference on Thursday that Jones is one of three people allegedly involved in both cases.
FBI director Kash Patel explained that the bureau uncovered gambling and wire fraud worth tens of millions of dollars across a multi-year investigation that spanned 11 U.S. states. Nocella added that all allegations are currently unproven.
Billups tied to Mafia-run illegal poker
Billups, a five-time NBA All-Star, was arrested for his supposed involvement in an illegal poker operation allegedly backed by the Italian Mafia.
Nocella told reporters that the bureau believes the operation provided rigged poker games that used advanced technology to read and shuffle cards. The scheme stole millions of dollars from victims, said Nocella. Billups was allegedly used as a tool to bring players to the rigged games.
Officials said the scheme began in 2019 and continued for several years.
Billups was arrested in Oregon on Thursday after coaching the Trail Blazers in their season opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Minnesota securing a 118-114 win.
Rozier and Jones allegedly tied to sports betting
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors allege Rozier provided insider information to co-conspirators and manipulated his own gameplay and the potential outcome of games.
Rozier allegedly notified the co-defendants of his plan to exit early due to injury, leading the co-conspirators to place prop wagers on his performances. The group allegedly bet more than $150,000 on Rozier to hit the under on several prop markets.
Jones allegedly passed insider information to third parties regarding player injuries.
Rozier’s ties to gambling misconduct were first mentioned in a Wall Street Journal report in January that investigated Rozier’s supposed involvement in an illegal sports betting scheme. Federal prosecutors were notified of Rozier’s potential involvement in the scheme while investigating former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter, who received a lifetime NBA ban for betting on basketball and passing on insider information to third parties.
Legal sportsbooks were ‘victims’
Officials did not reveal which legal sports betting operators may have been involved in the schemes.
“The sportsbooks themselves are victims in this case,” stressed Nocella Jr. “As far as our investigation has concluded, they did not perpetrate anything unlawful.”
The American Gaming Association (AGA) said via an emailed statement that the revelations are “a stark reminder of the pervasive and predatory illegal market.”
“It is important to recognize that the regulated legal market delivers transparency, oversight and collaboration with authorities that assists in bringing these bad actors to light,” added the AGA.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” said the NBA in its own statement following the FBI’s press conference. “Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
