On Friday, the NBA informed its teams of its plans to place a tighter grip on the type of bets that it can offer on its games, sending a clear message: the league wants to remain deeply involved in talks with sportsbooks and regulators.
The reminder comes just two months after separate gambling-related arrests involving Miami guard Terry Rozier and Portland coach Chauncey Billups. The changes, explained the league, are aimed at further promoting “understanding of and adherence to the league’s betting rules.”
Injury Reports and Training Touchpoints
According to a memo obtained by The Associated Press, the NBA will introduce several small tweaks and more meaningful updates to its policies, including how injuries are reported, betting education, tanking, player safety, and wagering monitoring.
One of the most significant changes will affect injury reports, with teams now required to resubmit them on game days, except on the second night of back-to-back games.
For games tipping off at 5 pm or earlier, the updated report must be filed between 8 and 10 am, while for later games, the reports will have to be sent between 11 am and 1 pm.
According to the league, the new rules are meant to “further promote transparency regarding players’ game participation status, and thereby diminish the value of confidential information that could be ‘tipped’” to bettors or others.
Rozier has been accused of telling friends he would leave a game early while with Charlotte in March 2023, information that allegedly helped bettors cash winning “under” prop bets that night.
The NBA also plans to increase what it calls “training touchpoints” throughout the season to reinforce betting rules for league and team personnel alike. Plus, the league will introduce new “compliance measures (for) individuals who are not employed by a team and may have access to confidential team information.”
Fan Code of Conduct, Tanking, and AI
The NBA will update its Fan Code of Conduct to increase the protection of “NBA players, coaches, and other team personnel from harassment or threats by sports bettors.”
For a long time, players and coaches have complained about different forms of abuse from fans upset over losing bets. The NBA is now pushing for “stronger anti-harassment protections in federal or state laws and regulations.”
Tanking is another hot topic on the table, with the league confirming it is once again reviewing possible policy changes, though they did not announce any fresh rules on Friday.
On the betting side, the NBA said it will lean more heavily on artificial intelligence and other tools to flag unusual wagering patterns while reiterating its determination to limit certain prop bets, which it believes carry a higher risk of manipulation.
Separately, the NBA announced that Eric Lewis has been reinstated to its officiating program as a G League referee. He is set to work games this weekend at the G League Winter Showcase in Orlando, with a possible path back to the NBA.
Lewis retired in August 2023 while under investigation for potential violations of the league’s social media policy. The NBA said he “fully participated in an investigation into his social media activities during his time as an NBA official.”
“In order to be eligible to rejoin the program, Lewis cleared several benchmarks, including stress management counseling and training on responsible use of social media,” the league said. Lewis has spent the past two seasons officiating NCAA games.
“Over nearly 20 years, Eric established himself as one of the NBA’s premier game officials,” argued Byron Spruell, the NBA president overseeing league operations.
“While he made a mistake in engaging on social media, our investigation concluded that his behavior did not impact his ability to officiate games fairly and with integrity. We are confident he has learned from that experience and can properly serve the game again,” added Spruell.