NBA gambling investigation: 3 takeaways from the federal indictments

The Athletic has live coverage of the U.S. federal betting investigation into NBA players.

NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors on Thursday arrested more than 30 people, including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, as part of a multiyear investigation into illegal betting activities.

“This is the insider trading saga for the NBA,” FBI director Kash Patel said at a news conference Thursday morning in New York.

Former Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach and ex-NBA player Damon Jones was also among those arrested Thursday, federal law enforcement officials said.

Rozier and Billups have been placed on leave by the league, the NBA said Thursday.

Prosecutors said at least two cases were pending separately, but they contain some overlap and connections. One is related to sports betting, while the other is related to poker games that prosecutors say were rigged.

The fallout from the cases will hang over this NBA season, which began just two nights ago. The Athletic read through the government’s indictments Thursday morning. Here are three takeaways:

1) NBA players and coaches were a crucial part of both alleged rings. According to the indictments, they were conduits of information for bettors who put money on prop bets and other wagers related to NBA games. Additionally, the defendants who bet on games also directed other associates and syndicates. While Rozier was the lone NBA player indicted Thursday, others were unnamed co-conspirators, and others simply passed along information about who would not be playing that was then weaponized.

2) I’d expect there will be further emphasis from the NBA on the accurate reporting of injuries and player participation. The alleged betting scheme feasted on and weaponized what law enforcement officials called non-public information about who wasn’t playing in future games. Several games were bet on because bettors found out that players would sit out for tanking teams trying to better position themselves for the league’s draft lottery. This is something the NBA has paid some attention to in the past, but now, it will have to be extremely strict about it. Injury reports have always been important to gamblers, but the indictments show how they can be used and potentially criminalized.

3) There is a lot that we don’t know. While 34 people have been arrested as part of this investigation, there are several unnamed co-conspirators in the indictments. Will there be more charges from the federal government and more well-known people implicated in the future?