Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups were among over 30 people arrested on Thursday morning by the FBI as part of a federal investigation into illegal sports gambling activities and illegal poker games.
The arrests made around the country sent shockwaves across the NBA, as Rozier and Billups were taken into custody.
The NBA has been investigating countless cases of illegal sports gambling activity through the years and recently banned Jontay Porter from the league in April 2024. The league's investigation found that he disclosed confidential information about his own health status to individuals who placed winning wagers on multiple prop bets.
“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 met with the more severe punishment,” commissioner Adam Silver said in the league's 2024 press release. “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.”
Rozier was previously under investigation by the NBA for suspicion of illegal gambling activity, but no illegal activity was found by the league. At the time, the FBI investigation was ongoing.
Now, numerous arrests have been made by federal agents on Thursday, raising major questions about the futures of Rozier and Billups, as well as the NBA as a whole.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” the NBA said in a statement following the FBI's press conference on Thursday. “Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Here is everything that is known about these separate but linked investigations by the FBI.
Terry Rozier's suspicious sports gambling investigation
Although Rozier was not punished by the NBA and its investigation due to no violations of league rules having occurred, the FBI continued to look into the matter as part of a broader operation.
Rozier was taken into custody in Orlando on Thursday morning after the Miami Heat lost 125-121 to the Orlando Magic the night before. Federal authorities are accusing Rozier of telling specific members of a betting ring that he would leave a game early in 2023 while playing for the Charlotte Hornets.
As a result, several individuals placed high wagers on the “unders” for Rozier's prop bets on multiple sportsbooks, knowing that he would be leaving the game early due to inside information not made public.
On March 23, 2023, the day Rozier left a game with a supposed “injury,” it is said that the defendants placed more than $200,000 of wagers on the unders for his prop bets. Upon playing nine minutes in the game, Rozier exited and did not return, resulting in these bets being counted and paid out as winners.
Upon exiting the game, those whom Rozier told ahead of time won millions of dollars and were said to have met with Rozier at his home with their winnings later, where the money was counted.
Frank Nocella Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, who is working closely with the FBI on this federal probe, said in a press conference on Thursday morning that Rozier and the others involved in this scandal are “corrupt individuals” for providing this inside information, resulting in illegal gambling activity from 2022 to 2024.
He went on to say that this scheme was an “insider sports betting conspiracy that exploited confidential information about NBA athletes and teams.”
The first indictment involving Rozier, former NBA player and coach Damon Jones, and four others is being labeled by the FBI as “Operation Nothing But Bet.”
Four teams were named by the FBI on Thursday morning as NBA organizations that were bet on during the sports gambling scheme: the Toronto Raptors, Charlotte Hornets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Los Angeles Lakers.
At this time, no further players, coaches, or NBA personnel have been named in the ongoing investigations other than Rozier, Jones, and Billups.
“We have represented Terry Rozier for over a year,” Rozier's lawyer, Jim Trusty, released in a statement to Pablo Torre. “A long time ago, we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication. They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning, they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel. It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self-surrender, they opted for a photo op.
“They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case. They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly incredible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA, and these prosecutors revived that non-case.
“Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.”
The Heat have not issued any statements about Rozier's arrest or the ongoing investigation. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the league office are cooperating with federal agents.
FBI Director Kash Patel called this an “insider trading saga for the NBA” on Thursday.
Whether or not Rozier's contract will be voided and taken off the Heat's cap sheet is yet to be known. Should he be found guilty and prosecuted by the FBI from this investigation, the NBA would have the right to deem him ineligible, which would result in his contract being removed from the Heat's salary cap, luxury tax, and tax aprons.
Rozier is in the final year of his $96.2 million contract and is scheduled to make $26.6 million this season. He now faces money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy charges, according to the FBI indictments.
Chauncey Billups involved in separate illegal poker investigation
This is the first time Billups' name has appeared in conjunction with any federal investigation into illegal gambling activity.
After the Portland Trail Blazers lost 118-114 at home on Wednesday night to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Billups was arrested early Thursday morning by federal agents in Portland and charged in a separate indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games backed by Mafia families.
Members of the La Cosa Nostra, including the Bonanno, Gambino, and Genovese families, are connected to this investigation, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Thursday.
There are 31 defendants, including Billups and Jones, who were named in this investigation for rigged poker games. This illegal activity was said to occur in the Hamptons, Miami, Las Vegas, and Manhattan.
The poker scheme involving Billups, crime families, and others targeted people to play high-stakes games with professional athletes, which included Billups and Jones.
According to the FBI, the altered shuffling machine would read the cards in the deck as they were dealt to the players and then relayed that information to an off-site operator known as the “quarterback” of the scheme. This info was read, analyzed, and then sent quickly to someone actively at the table where the game was taking place, according to Joe Pompliano.
Other cheating technologies were also utilized in this scheme, including poker chip trays that read cards through hidden cameras, special contact lenses, and glasses used to read marked cards. The FBI alleges that the defendants robbed a victim at gunpoint to acquire a rigged shuffling machine, and one person lost as much as $1.8 million in the rigged poker games.
This investigation has been ongoing for four years, with victims losing at least $7 million. The FBI has labeled the indictment as “Operation Royal Flush,” which overlaps with “Operation Nothing But Bet.”
Nocella Jr., Patel, and the FBI would not disclose how these two investigations and operations overlapped with one another.
Billups has been the head coach of the Blazers since 2021, and he recently agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the organization in April 2025. Like Rozier, the Blazers coach also faces money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy charges.
Damon Jones' connection to Lakers, LeBron James
Unlike Rozier and Billups, who are involved in one aspect of the FBI's grand investigation, Jones' name has come up in conjunction with both “Operation Royal Flush” and “Operation Nothing But Bet.” He is the only person from the NBA to be named in both scandals.
Jones, who has been a long-time friend of Los Angeles Lakers' star LeBron James, dating back to their days as players on the Cleveland Cavaliers, sold or tried to profit from non-public information about an ankle injury LeBron was dealing with in 2023, according to the indictment.
James did not play in a game for the Lakers against the Milwaukee Bucks on February 9, 2023, information that Jones looked to take advantage of. At no point was Jones an employee of the organization when this took place, according to The Athletic.
The information Jones had and sold or tried to profit from, including who was not playing in the game and who would be leaving the game early, resulting in the ability for others to place wagers on certain prop bets and immediately win.
Jones allegedly texted an unnamed co-conspirator that a player was out and they should bet on the Bucks before this game on Feb. 9, 2023, according to The Athletic.
Along with his involvement in the sports gambling investigation, Jones is also involved in the poker scandal connected to Billups and Mafia families.
The NBA has yet to comment on the recent arrests of Rozier, Billups, and Jones.
