Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA for betting on games, the league announced on Wednesday.
“A league investigation found that Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games,” the NBA said in a statement.
The two-way player was recently under contract with the team. Porter averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, in 13.8 minutes over 26 games with Toronto this season, according to the Canadian Press.
The NBA found that prior to the Raptors game on March 20, Porter disclosed information about his own health status to an individual who he knew was an NBA bettor.
Another person that Porter knew was an NBA bettor then placed an $80,000 parlay proposition bet with an online sports book to win $1.1 million, betting that Porter would underperform in the game, the NBA said.
The league also found that Porter limited his own game participation to influence the outcome of bets on his performance in at least one Raptors game.
“In the March 20 game, Porter played only three minutes, claiming that he felt ill. Due to the unusual betting activity and actions of the player, the $80,000 proposition bet was frozen and was not paid out,” the NBA said.
The suspicious bets involving Porter’s performance were brought to the NBA’s attention by licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets, the NBA said.
“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
The league added that while he was travelling with the Raptors or Raptors 905 from January through March 2024, he placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account.
“These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000, for a total of $54,094. The total payout from these bets was $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965. None of the bets involved any game in which Porter played,” the league said.
The league said it is continuing to investigate.
