On the eve of the 2024-25 NBA season, the sports betting world was met with a piece of flash news, claiming that a huge score of major US sportsbooks has now opted to close out the market for unders betting in the prop bets in response to the viral Jontay Porter betting scandal, which was found out last January and March 2024.

FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, ESPN BET, and Caesars Sportsbook are among the major betting platforms in the United States to declare that they will now restrict prop betting for unders in combating manipulation for sports betting moving forward. This also aligns with the NBA’s move to ban players who are involved with sports betting – especially those who are constantly putting bets on themselves.

Sure, the NBA has already been building bridges with a lot of sports betting platforms over the years, and it cannot be denied that many fans were actually expecting to see some bigger and closer strides in the betting world and the NBA itself, like sponsorships. However, it does seem that there will be a lot of paths that it could lead to before a promising partnership can happen with the Jontay Porter betting incident at hand.

Major US Sportsbook Leading the Charge

The NBA has had a lot of discussions with major sportsbooks in the United States this summer, and the restriction was the big result of that talk. So far, the sportsbooks have really opted to come up with some interesting feedback on that matter, showing that they are backing the NBA in hopes of providing a promising experience for bettors.

"We are pleased that these actions have been taken to help protect the integrity of our games," an NBA spokesperson told ESPN. FanDuel also claimed that they are keen to work with their partners to ensure that all markets adhere to the league’s standards. DraftKings also claimed that they are in alignment with the NBA and hopes to engage more on the matter.

Sportsbooks have confirmed that the new ruling is effective immediately, with bettors no longer allowed to place wagers on those who are on two-way or 10-day contracts to ensure that there will be manipulation in betting. Players who are on two-way contracts are for those who play in both the G League and the NBA, shifting as needed by teams. 10-day contracts, on the other hand, are for those who are vying for a bigger contract with a team.

Aftermath of the Porter Scandal

It can be remembered that Jontay Porter was a player for the Toronto Raptors in the 2023-24 NBA season and was betting on himself to finish under a certain set of points. That’s when sportsbooks would go on to flag suspicious betting patterns on Porter’s stats in games between January and March.

At the time, Porter was signed with the Toronto Raptors. One big incident that can be remembered was when he exited their game back on January 26 against the Los Angeles Clippers after playing just a few minutes. In that season, Porter played a total of 25 games, averaging 4.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, shooting 38.5% from the field, including 33.3% from three and played 14.4 minutes per game.

So far, Porter has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and is set to be sentenced this December 18th in New York.