New York (AFP) – The NBA is reviewing league policies to ensure players know gambling’s “dire risks,” according to a league memo reportedly sent to teams Monday in the wake of a betting scandal. The memo, obtained and revealed by ESPN, came four days after FBI agents arrested Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland head coach Chauncey Billups among others as part of a sports gambling and betting investigation. Both were put on administrative leave by the NBA, and each has denied wrongdoing through lawyers.
The league said in the memo it had started “reviewing league policies regarding injury reporting, the training and education of all NBA personnel, and safety measures for NBA players,” according to the ESPN report. “With sports betting now occupying such a significant part of the current sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players, coaches, and other NBA personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment from bettors.”
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The review will include looking at how artificial intelligence and other tools can help detect improper activities. “We are also exploring ways to enhance our existing internal and external integrity monitoring programs to better utilize AI and other tools to synthesize all available data from betting operators, social media, and other sources to identify betting activity of concern,” the NBA said.
Rozier was charged in a scheme around “prop” bets in a March 2023 game when he played for the Charlotte Hornets. An indictment says he told a friend he would be leaving the game against New Orleans early, and the information was allegedly sold to gamblers. An unusual number of bets were placed on Rozier’s statistical numbers in the game to be below expected levels, and Rozier was removed from the game after just over nine minutes with a foot injury.
“Prop” bets need more action from legal and regulatory authorities, the NBA memo said. “We believe there is more that can be done from a legal/regulatory perspective to protect the integrity of the NBA and our affiliated leagues,” the memo states. “In particular, proposition bets on individual player performance involve heightened integrity concerns and require additional scrutiny.”
Billups is charged with taking part in rigged poker games and using his fame to lure other players into the games, where high-tech cheating methods were used to ensure they were losers.
© 2024 AFP
