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The Jontay Porter Rule: NBA and betting partners do not accept side bets on low-salary players

The Jontay Porter Rule: NBA and betting partners do not accept side bets on low-salary players

Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter has been given a lifetime ban by the NBA for violating the league’s gambling policy. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

The NBA’s betting partners do not offer “under” or prop bets on players who earn the lowest salaries or are on two-way or 10-day contracts. According to The Athletic, this agreement includes major sportsbooks such as FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM.

“We are pleased that these actions have been taken to protect the integrity of our games,” the NBA said in a statement released Friday.

Call it “The Jontay Porter Rule,” although the NBA probably won’t call it that. Porter, 24, was handed a lifetime ban at the end of last season for violating the league’s gambling policy.

“A league investigation found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.” the league said in a statement published April 17th.

Porter plays for the Toronto Raptors and their G League affiliate on a two-way contract that paid him about $50,000. Porter is the type of player with a lower salary who might be interested in participating in a gambling program where he would consciously influence the outcome of bets placed on him.

The NBA found in an investigation that Porter was involved in several betting irregularities over the course of several months.

“The first game took place on January 26th when the Raptors took on the Los Angeles Clippers. Porter played only four minutes in that game and then left due to an eye injury he sustained days earlier. Porter finished the game with no points, three rebounds, one assist and no attempted 3-pointers, allowing the under to score in all four of those categories, making it the biggest money winner for bettors on all NBA Props on this day via DraftKings Sportsbook. according to ESPN.”

Additionally, the league found in its investigation that Porter had disclosed confidential information about his medical condition to “an individual known to be an NBA bettor” prior to Toronto’s game against the Sacramento Kings on March 20.

Someone else connected to Porter bet that the player would underperform on an $80,000 wager at an online sportsbook. Porter ensured he wouldn’t play well by withdrawing from the game saying he was sick after just three minutes.

The NBA also found that Porter placed at least 13 bets on games using another person’s gambling account from January to March 2024. Although Porter didn’t bet on any of the games he attended, he placed a parlay bet that the Raptors would lose. Stakes ranged from $15 to $22,000, for a total of $54,094. According to the NBA, Porter earned nearly $22,000 from the bets.