In an effort to combat illegal sports gambling scandals, the NBA and its sportsbook partners have banned wagers the league deems problematic and susceptible to manipulation, per a pair of memos obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
The bets that will no longer be permitted are parlays wagered on a series of under bets for the same player; any under wagers for players who average fewer than 12 minutes per game; and first basket, opening tipoff winners and wagers for players to miss any specific shots.
These restrictions are in addition to previous limitations on wagers from prior seasons, such as bets on any 10-day contract or two-way player; player props on turnovers; any wagers related to player and team fouls; and any wagers related to missed free throws.
“Protecting the integrity of our games remains the NBA’s top priority," an NBA spokesperson said, Friday, Oct. 16. "Building on existing safeguards, we are strengthening betting education and monitoring, working with operators to expand limits on bets that are more susceptible to manipulation, and improving protections against betting-related harassment to help safeguard our competition, players and personnel.”
The NBA collaborated with sportsbooks to arrive at these measures after evaluating the markets that had been used to launch some of the scandals that had rocked the league in previous seasons.
For example, the NBA levied a lifetime ban on former Raptor forward Jontay Porter, after it was revealed he intentionally manipulated his performance to hit a series of under wagers in order to win parlay bets.
The league sent out two different memos Friday, Oct. 16, detailing the measures. The first memo went out to official and authorized gaming partners, indicating the bans on those bets. While DraftKings and FanDuel are the official gaming partners, there are 10 other sportsbooks that comprise authorized partners, such as Fanatics, Caesars, BetMGM and bet365. In total, the NBA estimates that its official and authorized partners comprise the overwhelming majority of the total market.
“The NBA’s guidance formalizes many of the market restrictions already reflected in DraftKings Sportsbook’s practices,” a DraftKings spokesperson said Friday in a statement emailed to USA TODAY Sports. “DraftKings supports the NBA’s efforts and is committed to continued collaboration with the league to maintain game integrity, including through appropriate limits on betting markets. DraftKings’ Code of Responsible Engagement is fully aligned with the league’s stance on the harassment of athletes, coaches or officials.”
The league essentially leveraged the use of its data on platform to work with the sportsbooks to come to these bans. The NBA’s agreements with its gaming partners furnish the right to limit the types of wagers and markets sportsbooks can offer its client base.
“The legalized sports betting industry is built on a foundation of dialogue and collaboration with our league partners and the states in which we operate,” a FanDuel spokesperson said Friday in a statement emailed to USA TODAY Sports. “We remain unwavering in our commitment to building a legal and regulated market that roots out abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and damage the integrity of the games we love.”
The second memo went to all 30 NBA franchises, detailing additional monitoring methods and enhanced training requirements and some additional harassment supports for when fans negatively interact with players over gambling losses. The league also disclosed an AI monitoring tool which analyzes injury reports and troves of player availability and performance data to flag irregularities.
As part of the initiatives, former NFL player and retired FBI agent Charles Tillman will conduct live, in-person training on the NBA’ sports gambling rules for each franchise.
This is an effort the league has been undertaking for several months and goes into effect immediately.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA, sportsbooks enact bans on certain wagers, parlays and under bets
