After being under investigation by the league for alleged sports gambling, Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter has received a lifetime ban from the NBA. The league office announced their decision to ban Porter on Wednesday afternoon.
đ¨ The investigation shows that on the 13 NBA bets Jontay Porter made, the total payout was $76,059. Resulting in net winnings of $21,965.
Three of the bets were multi-game parlay bets that included one Raptors game, in which Porter bet that the Raptors would lose. https://t.co/OqXsTcUo1q
â ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 17, 2024
The league's investigation found that prior to the Raptors' March 20 game, Porter disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor. Another individual in association with Porter subsequently placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet to win $1.1 million in total based on Porter underperforming expectations.
Further investigation found that Porter limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game. In the Mar. 20 game, Porter claimed he felt ill and only played three minutes, resulting in the $80,000 bet placed on Porter to underachieve his expectations to win. The proposition bet was frozen and not paid out.
In addition, the league discovered that Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate's online betting account from January through March while traveling with the Raptors or Raptors 905 in the NBA G League. These bet sizes ranged anywhere from $15 to $22,000 in total, for a total of $54,094. The total payout from these bets was $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965, but Porter did not play in any of the games associated with these bets that were placed.
Three of the bets were multi-game parlays that included at least one Raptors game, in which Porter bet that the team would lose. All three bets lost.
âThere 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 met with the more severe punishment,â commissioner Adam Silver said in the league's press release. âWhile 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.
âWorking closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.â
Raptors president Masai Ujiri issued a statement on Porter, claiming that the team did a proper background check on Porter when they signed him in December, according to Sportsnet's Michael Grange.
âWe did all due diligence and from reports and everything we had. I think there was nothing we could know about,â Ujiri said. âWe do the best due diligence we can, with everybody.â
The NBA's investigation remains open at this time and may result further findings. The league has also shared and will continue to share information with federal prosecutors about this matter.
Jontay Porter's NBA investigation
At the NBA's Board of Governors meeting on April 10, Silver addressed the allegations associated with Porter's potential involvement with illegal sports gambling activity.
âI am always surprised in any individual circumstance. If you look at the history of sports betting, prior to the mass legalization, it was always legal in Las Vegas, but since the mass legalization of it in the United States, there have been incidents. We've had incidents, obviously with an official,â Silver told reporters at the press conference. âThis is not new that there's unsavory behavior, even illegal behavior, around sports betting. I guess my point is that, to the extent that it's going to exist, that if you have a regulated environment that you're going to have a better chance of detecting it than you would if all the bets were placed illegally.
âTo answer your question about the consequences, I have an enormous range of discipline available to me. But it's a cardinal sin what he's accused of in the NBA. The ultimate, extreme option I have is to ban him from the game. That's the level of authority I have here because there's nothing more serious around this league when it comes to gambling and betting on our games with direct player involvement. The investigation is ongoing, but the consequences could be very severe.â
The decision to ban Porter from the league is one that Silver made with the highest authority. Silver made it clear earlier this month that banishment from the league was on the table, and the results of the investigation conclude that Porter's involvement in these gambling schemes was of the highest severity.
The issue involving Porter centers around prop bets made for games played on January 26 and March 20, according to ESPN. When the Raptors played the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 26, there was increased betting interest on the under for all of Porter's prop bets. After Porter only played in four minutes, DraftKings Sportsbook reported the following day that the âunderâ for Porter's three-pointer prop bet was the biggest money-winner for bettors of any NBA props from games that evening.
Then, on March 20, Porter played just three total minutes against the Phoenix Suns before he exited with what the Raptors said was an illness. Porter finished this game with no points and only two rebounds. Various sportsbooks had Porter's over/unders set at roughly 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for this contest. According to reports, his props were the best moneymaker on March 26 on DraftKings.
Porter, the brother of Denver Nuggets champion Michael Porter Jr., will no longer have any direct involvement with the NBA.
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