NBA Tweaks Its Rules to Thwart Sports Betting Cheats

The basketball league will require teams to submit injury reports closer to tipoff, an attempt to close one source of inside information.

New Same-Day Injury Reporting Window

The N.B.A. wants to make it harder for gamblers to profit from inside information about players’ health.

Starting Monday, teams will be required to submit an injury report between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the day of games, a move designed to catch any changes made after a team’s morning shootaround, according to three people familiar with the league’s plan, which it has not yet publicly announced. Previously, in most cases, the final public injury report was due the evening before at 5.

The rule change is a concrete step to maintain the integrity of the league in the wake of recent sports betting indictments involving notable figures in basketball.

Closing the Gap on Last-Minute Injury News

Although teams were expected to update their reports with any changes to athletes’ playing status, last-minute injury information was often known only to people with direct access to players.

All injury reports will be made public at official.nba.com within 15 minutes of being submitted, because the site will now update every 15 minutes instead of once an hour.

League Briefs Owners and Increases Penalties

League medical and player health staff presented the new procedure to the N.B.A.’s Board of Governors on Friday. Teams were also informed that penalties for violating rules on injury reporting would become steeper.