The NBA has reached an agreement with prominent sportsbooks to eliminate certain types of bets from the gambling landscape. The move targets wagers that can be easily manipulated by players or other involved parties. It comes on the heels of federal indictments of former NBA players and coaches in 2025, alleging bet-fixing on player-stats-based wagers. Shams Charania of ESPN reported the news. The now-prohibited bets include:
- Parlay bets involving the under on the same player’s statistics
- “First of” market; examples: winner of opening tip, an individual’s specific shot, rebound, assist, steal
- Under bets on players expected to play less than 12 minutes a game
Per co-author David Purdum, the restrictions come as a direct result of
prior malfeasance:
Parlay bets on a single player’s unders appeared in the federal cases involving NBA players Jontay Porter and Terry Rozier.
Porter admitted in court that he intentionally removed himself from games early to benefit bettors while he was on a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors during the 2023-24 season.
In the criminal complaint, federal prosecutors said one of the bettors charged in the scheme placed an $80,000 parlay on the under on Porter’s assists, rebounds, points, 3-pointers, steals and blocks for a March 2024 game between the Raptors and Sacramento Kings that would pay approximately $1.1 million. Porter left the game after playing only three minutes.
Federal prosecutors allege bettors took a similar approach a year earlier with parlays involving the under on Rozier’s stats in a March 2023 game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. The veteran guard, who was with the Hornets at the time, left after playing approximately nine minutes. Rozier has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
Kaufman-Ross said the Porter and Rozier cases were factors in the decision to prohibit such parlays that were described as “low likelihood, high payout bets” in the memo. Sportsbooks also will be prohibited from offering alternate lines on unders with larger payouts.
