Attention has been focused on Ippei Mizuhara’s alleged theft from MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani, but it’s the emergence of a sports integrity issue in a different sport that has drawn greater concern.
The NBA has initiated an investigation into betting irregularities related to Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter’s performance in games on January 26th, against the Los Angeles Clippers, and March 20th, against the Sacramento Kings.
The irregularities relate to so-called “prop bets”, which allowed gamblers to wager whether Porter will go “Over” or “Under” certain benchmarks for points, rebounds, assists and 3-pointers. In both games, Porter was removed early (for injury or illness), and bets on the “Under” for Porter prop bets were the most lucrative (or close to the most lucrative) for that night of NBA action according to reports by DraftKings Sportsbook released the next day. This article from Forbes expounds on the details.
Porter has not been formally accused of unscrupulous behaviour, nor is there any confirmed proof that such behaviour occurred. But the NBA is zeroing in on a risk that any professional league should be worried about: fixed games.
What Might The NBA Be Looking For
The NBA has not publicly announced the details, but as someone who has worked on hundreds of similar matters, I’d expect a few things.
First, they’re likely working with sportsbooks and even outside experts to collect information on suspicious bets and bettors. Their goal is to use personal information (like address and name) and public records to identify a connection between Porter and these bettors, as well as between the bettors themselves. Such a connection could prove scheme versus coincidence.
Investigators will also examine the timing and amount of the wagers compared to other games that Porter played in, review public social media records, and even obtain cryptocurrency transactions where possible. They will consider the risk that other players were involved and examine film of the two games in question, though the latter is the type of subjective analysis that can be a very slippery slope.
They will interview Raptors team and medical personnel regarding the circumstances of Porter’s injuries and performance, as well as Porter himself. They may even attempt to speak with certain bettors; however, without the powers of law enforcement, such interviews would be extraordinarily unlikely. As would obtaining private documents like phone and bank records, usually critical to establishing a fact pattern and financial conspiracy. That said, expect law enforcement to be at least paying attention, if not indirectly in the loop.
Blame Cast At Broader Sports Betting Environment
Since the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (“PASPA”) in 2018, 38 states (plus the District of Columbia) have legalized sports wagering. This has led to a bombardment of advertising, and easier access for millions to betting markets, which has increased the inherent integrity risks of professional sports. These risks range from athletes unintentionally divulging their medical information all the way to altering their performance for the purposes of a bet. All are fires that leagues and associations are rightfully concerned about.
But the question is whether the repeal of PASPA and the subsequent proliferation of advertising are the matches that lit the fuse. Prior to 2018, sports wagering was limited to sports books at casinos. And while no one is naive enough to think that wagering wasn’t widespread in illegal markets, player-specific prop bets were far less common.
Michael Wilbon, one of America’s most recognizable and legendary sports personalities, has his answer, saying the following on the renowned show, Pardon The Interruption:
“This is what the leagues and networks…have wrought….they don’t just encourage it, they don’t just tolerate it, they say….*motion for giving them the money*.”
But Match Fixing Risks Aren’t New
In fact, they’ve existed since at least October 1, 1919. What’s changed is that regulation and proliferation has brought wagering out of the shadows and enhanced the spotlight on bad actors. This recent Toronto Star article on gambling problems for sports leagues referenced two cautionary tales: the bankruptcy of Evander Kane and the gambling exploits of Phil Mickelson. Both pre-date the explosion of betting partnerships and advertisements.
In 2016, in anticipation of PASPA’s repeal, the NBA began partnering with Sportradar, an industry leader in fraud monitoring services. And U.S. Integrity, which, like SportRadar, monitors gaming markets, was reportedly “integral in alerting regulators” to suspicious activity during another recent integrity issue with the University of Alabama’s Men’s Basketball team.
Consider this: what if the Jontay Porter issue had happened 10 years ago; but instead of publicly traded and regulated DraftKings as the bookmaker, it was an overnight offshore operation? It’s not only unlikely that the NBA would have been provided information on bettors; it’s unlikely they would have been notified at all.
Guardrails Exist To Prevent And Detect Illegal Activity
But today’s environment includes a myriad of both proactive and reactive controls, a fancy way of saying there are guardrails to prevent and detect illegal activity.
Proactively, sportsbooks place limits on wager amounts, which are lowered even further for prop bets. Those limits were in place for the Porter props, and attempts to exceed them were reportedly part of the warning system. Sportsbooks also require extensive identification, known in the business as “know your customer” (KYC), that ultimately may assist in this Porter investigation. Reactively, there are significant data analyses happening on market activity, such as the ones that Sportradar uses for its fraud monitoring.
None of these mechanisms existed prior to PASPA’s repeal, but we know they are essential to identifying potential nefarious activity.
And in addition to these controls, there are logical incentives. Most professional athletes make far too much money to make the risk of a fixed game worth it, especially considering the caps on prop bets. Their collective salaries are also tied to league-wide revenues, which are enhanced by sports betting partnerships.
So while many believe that the popularization of gambling caused the Jontay Porter integrity issue, the odds are (pardon the phrasing) that the popularization of gambling actually revealed it.
This risk isn’t going way, especially as more states legalize gambling, but the safeguards in place will hopefully continue to operate as designed.
