The NBA has banned Raptors forward Jontay Porter for life after a bombshell investigation found he manipulated his participation in a game to influence the outcome of a bet and also bet on NBA games.
The league found that Porter, 24, was “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors” and “limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes.”
Porter, who split time between the Raptors and their G League affiliate, also placed at least 13 bets on NBA games from January through March of this year; none of those bets included games in which he played, but he did bet a parlay that included a wager on the Raptors losing.
Before the Raptors’ March 20 game, Porter informed someone he knew to be an NBA bettor about his health status, and another person associated with Porter put $80,000 on a parlay on “unders” for Porter in that game to win $1.1 million.
Porter “limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game,” according to the NBA.
“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,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “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.”
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
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- Jontay Porter banned from NBA for life over gambling scandal
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