The NBA has banned Toronto two-way player Jontay Porter. This is after a league investigation concluded that he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games.
On a statement, the league said that an investigation found that Jontay Porter disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor ahead of a March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings. Then, another individual, known to Porter as an NBA bettor, placed an $80,000 double-up proposition bet with an online sportsbook to win $1.1 million. The league said that this wagers that Porter would underperform in the game.
Porter claimed that he felt ill and just played three minutes against Sacramento. The sportsbook froze the bet. It refused to pay out. This was due to the unusual betting activity and actions of the player.
Licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets brought the suspicious bets in the March 20 game to the NBA’s attention.
The NBA also stated that Michael Porter Jr. of Denver Nuggets forward brother, placed at least 13 bets on NBA games from January to March. This is while traveling with the Raptors on their G League affiliate. These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000 for a total of $59,904. The total payout from these bets was $76,059. This results in net winnings of $21,965. None of the bets involved any games in which Porter played.
The league said that three of the bets were multi-game parlay wagers. They included one Raptors game, in which he bet Toronto would lose.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver emphasized that protecting the integrity of NBA competition for fans, teams, and everyone associated with the sport is paramount. That’s why the NBA is issuing the most severe punishment for Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of their gaming rules.
