NBA Player Jontay Porter Banned For Life For Betting On GamesSports Betting Scandal Rocks League |
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The NBA officially banned Jontay Porter for life on Wednesday after an investigation revealed that the Toronto Raptors forward shared confidential information to bettors, limited his participation in at least one game, and wagered on NBA games.
The league also is continuing to investigate and share information with federal law enforcement.
“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 game rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
Betting Account Uncovered
The ban follows another interesting turn this week with the Action Network reporting that Porter held a FanDuel VIP account and wagered millions of dollars from 2021-23. The network alleged that Porter placed thousands of bets from an account in Colorado, but was barred from making bets on the NBA or college basketball.
“He was firing all of the time,” a source told the Action Network.
Porter’s brother, Michael Porter Jr., is a key player for the Denver Nuggets and helped the franchise win an NBA championship in 2023. Porter, however, was playing in the NBA’s G League at the time and the alleged wagering may have stopped right before he signed a two-way contract with the Raptors.
The controversy surrounding Porter came to light in March regarding two games played earlier this year. DraftKings reported heavy betting on the under prop bet for Porter’s stats. In both games, Porter exited the games after just a few minutes after apparently aggravating an injury and also self-reporting an illness.
All under bets hit in the two games in question and were the highest-producing prop bets for bettors over those nights, according to DraftKings. ESPN also reported that there were attempts at higher-than-normal bets in the $10,000 to $20,000 range, when player prop bets are usually capped at around $2,000.
Colorado gaming regulators asked all sportsbook operators in the state to report any accounts owned by Porter and any NBA-related betting. Porter was on leave from the Raptors before Silver announced he was being kicked out of the league and has yet to comment on the controversy.
Porter isn’t the first NBA player with a lifetime ban. In the 1950s a number of players were banned for point-shaving while in college.
Porter also joins infamous Major League Baseball players like hit king Pete Rose and the 1919 Chicago White Sox team that included “Shoeless” Joe Jackson in facing the ultimate consequence for sports betting.
The National Football League and National Hockey League have issued similar indefinite suspensions before, but they were ultimately rescinded or the player involved retired.
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