The National Basketball Association announced a lifetime ban for forward Jontay Porter following an investigation in which he was found to have "violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games" in a news release shared on Wednesday (April 17).
Porter, 24, who was recently under contract with the Toronto Raptors as a two-way player, was found to have "disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor" prior to the Raptors' game on March 20, as well as having knowledge that another individual he knew to be a bettor "placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet," wagering that he would underperform in the game, which won $1.1 million.
Porter was also reportedly found to have "limited his own participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets" he'd placed on his own performance during "at least one" game while signed to the Raptors. The forward was limited to just three minutes in the March 20 loss to the Sacramento Kings after claiming he'd felt ill.
The $80,000 proposition bet was frozen and not paid out due to unusual betting activity and Porter's actions. Porter was also reported to have placed at least 13 bets on NBA games under an associate's betting account while traveling with the Raptors or their G-League affiliate, Raptors 905, between January and March 2024.
The payout for the reported bets totaled $76,059, which resulted in net winnings of $21,965, though none of the bets involved games in which Porter had played. Three losing bets were mutli-game parlays, which included one leg in which Porter had bet against the Raptors.
The NBA was notified about the suspicious activity by licensed sports betting operators, as well as an organization that monitors legal betting markets, according to the news release.
“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," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver. "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.”
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