NBA Talks with Congress Staff as Betting Problems Grow

NBA officials went to Washington this week to meet with congressional workers. They wanted to explain how the NBA is dealing with its growing betting crisis and to talk about its current deals with sports betting companies. 

NBA Briefs Congress Staff as Lawmakers Probe Betting Scandals Involving Rozier, Billups, and Jones

The meeting happened after federal charges came out against Miami guard Terry Rozier, Portland coach Chauncey Billups, and former assistant coach Damon Jones. All three are accused of being part of different illegal betting plans.

Sources close to the talks say NBA lawyers and a gambling compliance expert met on Wednesday on Capitol Hill, reported the Associated Press. The NBA’s top boss Adam Silver, and lawmakers were not there. The chat was seen as a way to gather facts and was kept professional. It lasted less than 60 minutes. They talked about how the league’s integrity policies work, what players can and cannot do, and how open the league is with data.

Congressional committees in the House and Senate have asked the NBA to explain how betting scandals could pop up even though league staff cannot gamble. Lawmakers want to know why Rozier could still play in 2023 when sportsbooks had already noticed weird betting activity.

Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell, who are leading the Commerce Committee’s two-party investigation, have told the league to issue a written statement by November 10. They stressed that people’s faith in professional basketball hinges on keeping it free from gambling’s effects.

NBA Faces Scrutiny From Congress After Scandals Linking Players to Betting and Poker Rings

Staffers from the House committee grilled NBA officials about potential gaps in league rules and asked how they safeguard private player data from abuse. They also wondered if the NBA was rethinking its deals with big betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings after what happened.

The recent scandals have brought to light two intertwining schemes: one involves doctored performance stats to sway “prop bets,” while the other relates to backroom poker games linked to mob figures. Federal agents say Rozier sat out a game in March 2023 after alerting his buddies who bet on him to underperform.

As for Billups, he is said to have helped set up a fixed poker ring that ripped off big-money players and drew in celebrities to make it seem legitimate.

The NBA is taking action in response to the upheaval. They are looking over how they report injuries and plan on putting limits on some risky bets, like those on turnovers or free throws. The betting partners have already said yes to taking away several of these betting options.

NBA officials say that while they checked out some fishy stuff around Rozier’s game, they did not have the legal power to dig up evidence like the federal investigators could.