NBA Bans Raptors Player For Life After Major Betting Violations
Wednesday was a massive day in the history of NBA and legalized sports betting, and not for a good reason — thanks to Jontay Porter.
The NBA announced a previously unprecedented lifetime ban for Porter, a two-way forward for the Toronto Raptors for violations of the league’s gambling and betting policies.
According to the NBA’s investigation, Porter was not only betting on NBA games, but the league’s investigation found he disclosed “confidential information to sports bettors (and limited) his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes.”
The details from the league’s investigation are borderline shocking. According to the league, Porter is guilty of the following:
— He associated with a known NBA bettor and disclosed personal injury information, and that bettor then placed an $80,000 prop bet fading Porter’s performance in a March 20 game with a payout of $1.1 million.
— Porter limited his own performance in that game, playing only three minutes before asking out due to what he claimed was an illness. The online sportsbook where the bet was placed flagged the bet as suspicious and didn’t pay it out.
— Porter, in time with both Toronto’s NBA and G League teams, bet $54,094 through an associate on the NBA. Porter didn’t play in any of the games on which he bet, but he did bet on a Raptors game as part of a parlay in which he bet against Toronto.
On Tuesday, Action Network reported that Porter owned a VIP account with FanDuel Sportsbook in Colorado and bet millions of dollars between 2021 and 2023, citing sources. Porter’s brother, Michael Porter Jr., plays for the Denver Nuggets team that won an NBA title in 2023, but FanDuel did not take any of Jontay Porter’s bets on NBA or college basketball, according to Action Network.
“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 being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
Silver added: “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.”
Porter is an undrafted free agent out of Missouri. He broke into the league with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2020-21 season, appearing in 11 games. He made 26 NBA appearances this season with the Raptors, starting five, while scoring 4.4 points and averaging 3.2 rebounds in 14 minutes per game.