League seeks greater control over betting markets

The National Basketball Association on Friday reminded teams that it wants greater control over the types of bets offered on its games, signalling continued negotiations with sportsbooks and regulators as it seeks to reduce risks linked to gambling activity.

In a memo to teams, the league said the measures are intended to “further promote understanding of and adherence to the league’s betting rules,” while reiterating its push for changes to player prop bets to lower the risk of player performance manipulation. The NBA also said it plans to expand its use of artificial intelligence and other tools to monitor unusual betting activity.

Stricter injury reporting requirements

The league announced several changes to its injury reporting rules, requiring teams to resubmit reports on game days, except on the second night of back-to-back games. For games tipping off at 5 p.m. or earlier, reports must be filed between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., while later games will require updates between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The NBA said the change would “further promote transparency regarding players’ game participation status, and thereby diminish the value of confidential information that could be ‘tipped’.”

Context: gambling-related arrests

The announcement follows gambling-related arrests involving Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups. Rozier is accused of disclosing to friends that he would leave a game early while with the Charlotte Hornets in March 2023, prompting bettors to place successful “under” wagers on his player prop bets.

Education and compliance measures

The league said it will introduce additional “training touchpoints” throughout the season to educate league and team personnel on betting rules, along with new compliance measures for individuals who are not employed by teams but may have access to confidential information.

Protecting players and staff from betting-related abuse

The NBA also said it will update its Fan Code of Conduct to better protect players, coaches and team personnel from harassment or threats linked to sports betting losses, and will advocate for stronger anti-harassment protections in federal or state laws. The league acknowledged that players and coaches have faced abuse from bettors over unsuccessful wagers.

Ongoing concerns about tanking

Tanking remains a major concern for the NBA, which said it is reviewing potential policy changes, though no new rules were announced.

Eric Lewis reinstated as G League official

Separately, the league said Eric Lewis has been reinstated as an NBA G League official and will officiate at the G League Winter Showcase in Orlando this weekend. Lewis retired in August 2023 while under investigation for potential violations of the league’s social media policy.

The NBA said Lewis “fully participated in an investigation into his social media activities during his time as an NBA official” and cleared several benchmarks, including stress management counselling and training on responsible social media use. He has officiated NCAA games for the past two seasons.

“Over nearly 20 years, Eric established himself as one of the NBA’s premier game officials,” said Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president overseeing league operations. “While he made a mistake in engaging on social media, our investigation concluded that his behavior did not impact his ability to officiate games fairly and with integrity.”

“We are confident he has learned from that experience and can properly serve the game again, first as an NBA G League official and potentially in a return as an NBA official,” Spruell added.