Raptors Player Receives Lifetime Ban For Gambling: A Watershed Moment For The NBA

The NBA announced a lifetime ban for Toronto Raptors two-way player Jontay Porter following an investigation. It was found that Porter shared sensitive information with individuals involved in sports betting and also placed bets on games, leading to his suspension from the league.

Raptors Player Receives Lifetime Ban for Gambling: A Watershed Moment for The NBA

The league found Porter guilty of “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.” After an investigation, it was revealed that Porter shared private details about his health with someone he knew was a sports bettor prior to a game against the Sacramento Kings on March 20.

Additionally, another individual known by Porter to be involved in NBA betting placed a parlay proposition bet worth $80,000 with an online sportsbook, aiming to win $1.1 million by betting that Porter would perform below expectations in the game. He would remove himself from that game after less than three minutes due to an ‘illness’.

As a result of the suspicious activity, the bet was halted and remained unpaid. Licensed sports betting operators alerted the NBA to these dubious bets, prompting the league to launch an investigation. Furthermore, in recent weeks, the league discovered that Porter had placed a minimum of 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account from January to March 2024. In total, Porter wagered $54,094 and received a payout of $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965.

Porter, a sibling of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., entered the NBA in 2019 but went undrafted. He would subsequently mark his NBA debut with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2021. After various spells with G League teams, he clinched a two-way contract with the Raptors in December 2023, featuring in 26 games this season. However, he made his last appearance on March 22. Subsequently, he remained inactive for the remainder of the season due to an ESPN report on March 25 highlighting the league’s probe into gambling-related inconsistencies.