NBA memo: Must assess 'dire risks' of gambling

The NBA is reassessing its measures on legal sports betting, how it should be regulated, what type of bets should be allowed, and the best ways to protect players from the "dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods," according to a league memo obtained by ESPN on Monday.

The memo was sent to all 30 teams four days after veteran guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups were indicted in part of a federal investigation into gambling schemes involving sports betting and poker. The league wrote in the memo that it is reviewing policies regarding injury reporting, training and education of all NBA personnel and safety measures for players.

Federal authorities accused Rozier of conspiring with a childhood friend in a gambling scheme centered on prop bets on his statistics from a game on March 23, 2023, when he was with the Charlotte Hornets. Rozier, according to the indictment, told co-conspirator Deniro Laster that he would be leaving the game against the New Orleans Pelicans early. Laster sold the non-public information about Rozier's status to gamblers for approximately $100,000, according to the indictment.

Sportsbooks in multiple states detected unusual betting interest on the under on Rozier's statistics ahead of the game, and enough unexpected betting came in that many sportsbooks halted betting on Rozier ahead of the game. Rozier left the game after playing a little over nine minutes, citing a foot injury.

"While the unusual betting on Terry Rozier's 'unders' in the March 2023 game was detected in real time because the bets were placed legally, we believe there is more that can be done from a legal/regulatory perspective to protect the integrity of the NBA and our affiliated leagues," the memo states. "In particular, proposition bets on individual player performance involve heightened integrity concerns and require additional scrutiny."

The league wrote in the memo that is exploring ways to enhance its integrity monitoring programs to better use artificial intelligence and other tools to "synthesize all available data from betting operators, social media, and other sources to identify betting activity of concern."

Rozier and Billups, who were put on leave last week by the NBA after being arrested in Florida and Oregon, respectively, were charged in separate indictments. Billups is accused of participating in rigged poker games with ties to organized crime, according to the indictment.

"With sports betting now occupying such a significant part of the current sports landscape, every effort must be made to ensure that players, coaches and other NBA personnel are fully aware of the dire risks that gambling can impose upon their careers and livelihoods; that our injury disclosure rules are appropriate; and that players are protected from harassment from bettors," the memo states.