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Flying too Close to the Sun: The Game Fixing Investigation of the NBA, and the Consequences of Aligning with Betting Companies

[1]

On October 24, 2025, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) announced the arrest of more than thirty individuals connected to an Italian mafia-linked underground poker scheme.[2] The indictment alleges that the operation enticed participants by offering a chance to play alongside current and former NBA players, while rigging games to enrich the organizers.[3]

 

The FBI also uncovered evidence of robberies and violent enforcement tactics tied to the ring, suggesting the games were part of a broader criminal enterprise.[4] While it remains unclear how many NBA figures were aware of the operation’s true nature, the investigation has already drawn national attention, not just for the criminal allegations, but for what they reveal about the NBA’s deepening entanglement with gambling interests.[5]

 

From The Poker Table to The Court


As the poker probe expanded, federal agents began to uncover evidence of a broader scheme: the use of insider information to profit from bets placed on NBA games themselves.[6] That investigation soon led to the arrest of several individuals, including three with high-profile ties to the league - Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones, and Terry Rozier.[7]


Billups, a Hall of Fame point guard and the current head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Jones, an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, were both accused of providing confidential team information to outside bettors before it became public.[8] Rozier, a veteran guard most recently with the Miami Heat, faces allegations of both insider information sharing and direct game manipulation.[9]

 

The Allegations

 

According to investigators, Damon Jones informed his associates on February 9, 2023, that LeBron James would not play in a matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Milwaukee Bucks - a fact not yet made public at the time.[10] Armed with this privileged information, bettors allegedly placed significant wagers on Milwaukee before sportsbooks could adjust the odds.[11]

 

Chauncey Billups, investigators claim, engaged in a similar act on March 24, 2023, while serving as Portland’s head coach.[12] He allegedly told associates that the Trail Blazers planned to rest four key players - Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Jerami Grant, and Anfernee Simons - before that news was officially announced.[13] When the lineup changes were made public, betting lines shifted dramatically, and Portland went on to lose the game by 28 points.[14]


Terry Rozier’s case is even more direct.[15] During a March 23, 2023, game with the Charlotte Hornets, Rozier allegedly advised bettors to wager against him on multiple “prop” bets, predicting he would have a poor performance.[16] After only nine minutes on the court, Rozier checked out with an “injury,” and his co-conspirators reportedly netted more than $200,000 in winnings as a result.[17] Although Rozier’s defense insists the timing was coincidental, the pattern of wagers has raised deep suspicion among investigators and fans alike.[18]


The Fallout for The Accused


If the allegations are proven true, the consequences for Billups, Jones, and Rozier will be severe.[19] The NBA is expected to follow the precedent set earlier in 2025, when Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter was permanently banned from the league after admitting to betting on games.[20] Billups and Rozier would likely face similar lifetime bans, effectively ending their professional basketball careers.[21] 


Beyond the league’s disciplinary measures, each could face federal criminal penalties, including prison time for wire fraud and conspiracy.[22] Legal experts suggest that cooperation with prosecutors could lead to reduced sentences, though public trust and career reputation may be beyond repair.[23] For Billups, the scandal carries an additional sting: his induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame may be called into question, though no player has ever been retroactively removed after induction.[24]


The NBA’s Integrity Crisis


The scandal arrives at a moment when the NBA’s business model is increasingly intertwined with the sports gambling industry. Through partnerships, sponsorships, and media collaborations, the league generates roughly $585 million each year from betting-related revenue streams.[25] These relationships have boosted fan engagement and advertising value, but they now pose an existential threat to the league’s credibility.


If players, coaches, or team personnel are seen as manipulating betting outcomes, the perception of fairness, the foundation of both competitive sport and legal wagering could crumble.[26] The implications extend far beyond the NBA itself.[27] Other professional leagues, as well as state regulators, may face renewed pressure to tighten oversight and transparency rules surrounding athlete betting exposure.[28]


Internationally, the fallout could be even more significant. In many countries, such as Italy and Australia, gambling advertisements are restricted or banned during live sports broadcasts to avoid blurring the line between athletic performance and financial speculation.[29] In the United Kingdom, similar measures prohibit the use of celebrities or athletes in gambling promotions. [30] The United States, by contrast, has fully embraced the betting boom, so much so that ESPN now covers sports gambling and promotes its own betting app within the same programming blocks that discuss the FBI investigation.[31] 


This contradiction sits at the heart of the NBA’s current crisis. The league promotes responsible gambling while simultaneously profiting from it, even as its players and coaches face allegations of exploiting the very system that enriches it. The optics are difficult to ignore: the same media outlets broadcasting breaking news about an FBI gambling probe also display live betting odds at the bottom of the screen.[32] The cultural convergence of sports, entertainment, and betting has made the game more interactive but also more vulnerable to corruption.


The Path Forward


The NBA’s leadership now faces the task of restoring public trust in both its product and its partnerships.[33] League officials have already announced plans to expand their internal integrity unit and enhance data-sharing agreements with sportsbooks to identify irregular betting patterns. [34] Yet questions remain about whether these reforms will be enough to counter the perception that gambling has infiltrated the very core of the sport.[35] For fans, the scandal is a sobering reminder that the romantic notion of pure competition may be fading in an age where every shot, assist, and injury report carries financial weight.[36] For the league, it is a wake-up call that its alignment with the gambling industry, while lucrative, comes with risks that can quickly spiral beyond control.[37] 


For decades, the NBA has branded itself as a forward-thinking, transparent institution, committed to integrity and innovation.[38] Yet the recent revelations have exposed the fragile balance between progress and peril, with the pursuit of revenue and relevance through sports betting potentially pushing the league closer to the sun than it realized.[39] Whether the NBA emerges from this scandal stronger or permanently scarred will depend not only on the outcome of the FBI’s investigation but on the league’s willingness to confront the consequences of its own ambition.[40] When integrity becomes just another part of the entertainment package, the question is no longer how close you can fly, but how long before the wings begin to melt.

 

Chas Phillips (contributing editor) is a 2L at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. His interests include intellectual property, contract negotiations, and employment law. His ultimate goal is to work in the landscape of college sports, either for a university or the NCAA.



References:

[2] Terry Rozier Arrest Details: What We Know About the FBI’s NBA Gambling Investigation, Sporting News (Oct. 24, 2025), https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/terry-rozier-arrest-details-fbi-gambling-investigation/c96a9018e6efc0ebd744d3c8.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Sam Quinn, NBA Gambling Scandal, Explained: What to Know as Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier Get Arrested, Suspended, CBS Sports (Oct. 24, 2025), https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-illegal-gambling-investigation-explained/.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] NBA Gambling Investigation: Damon Jones Allegedly Sold Information About LeBron James, Lakers, CBS Sports (Oct. 23, 2025), https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-gambling-investigation-damon-jones-allegedly-sold-information-about-lebron-james-lakers/.

[11] Id.

[12] Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Chauncey Billups Induction Details Amid Scandal, USA Today (Oct. 24, 2025), https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2025/10/24/naismith-basketball-hall-of-fame-chauncey-billups/86883490007/.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups, Heat’s Terry Rozier Arrested in FBI Sports Gambling Investigation, N.Y. Post (Oct. 23, 2025), https://nypost.com/2025/10/23/sports/what-punishment-terry-rozier-chauncey-billups-could-face-in-nba-scandal/.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Id.

[19] Id.

[20] “NBA bans will-be : Rozier, Porter,” Yahoo Sports, (Nov. 3, 2025), https://sports.yahoo.com/article/terry-rozier-jontay-porter-bans-164023070.htm

[21]Id.

[22]Trail Blazers Coach Chauncey Billups, Heat’s Terry Rozier Arrested in FBI Sports Gambling Investigation, N.Y. Post (Oct. 23, 2025), https://nypost.com/2025/10/23/sports/what-punishment-terry-rozier-chauncey-billups-could-face-in-nba-scandal/.

[23]Id.

[24]Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Chauncey Billups Induction Details Amid Scandal, USA Today (Oct. 24, 2025), https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2025/10/24/naismith-basketball-hall-of-fame-chauncey-billups/86883490007/.

[25]Legal Sports Betting Will Give NBA, MLB a $1.7 Billion Revenue Bonanza: AGA Survey, Legal Sports Report (Oct. 23, 2018), https://www.legalsportsreport.com/25173/aga-survey-mlb-nba-sports-betting/

[26] The Dark Side of Sports Betting: Match-Fixing and Gambling-Related Corruption, Immunize Nev. (Oct. 1, 2025), https://immunizenevada.org/the-dark-side-of-sports-betting-match-fixing-and-gambling-related-corruption/.

[27] Michael A. Fletcher, Sports mafia ties run deeper than NBA gambling scandal, ESPN (Oct. 27, 2025), https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/46732224/billups-jones-rozier-nba-gambling-scandal-mafia-ties-history; Johanna Peurala, Match-manipulation in football – the challenges faced in Finland, 13 Int’l Sports L.J. 268 (2013).

[28] Id.

[29]Comparing Gaming Ad Regulations: How Different Countries Approach Public Advertising, Orah (Nov. 13, 2024), https://cega.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2-International-Advertising-Comparison.pdf

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32]ESPN’s NBA Gambling Scandal Coverage Draws Scrutiny, Sports Business J., Oct. 30, 2025, https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2025/10/30/espns-nba-gambling-scandal-coverage-draws-scrutiny/

[33] Raheem Soto, The Gamble with Trust: The NBA’s Integrity Crisis Is No Accident, Messenger Papers (Oct. 31, 2025), https://messengerpapers.com/2025/10/the-gamble-with-trust-the-nbas-integrity-crisis-is-no-accident/.

[34] Id.

[35] Id.

[36] Jay Busbee, How Can We Trust the NBA Right Now?, Yahoo Sports (Oct. 24, 2025), https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/how-can-we-trust-the-nba-right-now-175020161.html.

[37] Raheem Soto, The Gamble with Trust: The NBA’s Integrity Crisis Is No Accident, Messenger Papers (Oct. 31, 2025), https://messengerpapers.com/2025/10/the-gamble-with-trust-the-nbas-integrity-crisis-is-no-accident/.

[38] Id.

[39] Id.

[40] Raheem Soto, The Gamble with Trust: The NBA’s Integrity Crisis Is No Accident, Messenger Papers (Oct. 31, 2025), https://messengerpapers.com/2025/10/the-gamble-with-trust-the-nbas-integrity-crisis-is-no-accident/.

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