Toronto Raptors center Jontay Porter is out of the lineup and a subject of an NBA investigation into irregularities on prop betting involving him, sources tell @DavidPurdum, @ESPNWindhorst and me. Story soon.
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39808900/nba-eyes-raptors-jontay-porter-betting-issues
“Porter’s prop bets were the top moneymaking bets on two different nights of NBA action over the last two months, when the under on 0.5 3-pointers made hit at -120 on Jan. 26, and on March 20 when his props were the biggest moneymakers that night in the NBA, according to the DraftKings Sportsbook Insights, which is published daily and distributed to media members. A DraftKings spokesman, however, could not confirm its accuracy.”
From the athletic article, that’s really damning and it’s odd that prop bets with him shot up those days.
Is the NBA legally obligated to police the order around of prop betting on their league? Why is this an NBA investigation versus legal charges filed by a gambling company? I’d guess it is because the NBA’s ‘partnerships’ with gambling companies do obligate them to police betting on their sport, and that’s interesting to think about, that responsibility and accountability to gambling companies. If this were a legal thing, I think Jontay would get more of the “innocent until proven guilty” sentiment. But the gambling companies have the NBA doing their biding, may wish to make an example out of Jontay as a deterrent to others more than anything here, and they get to appear uninvolved as this is an ‘NBA investigation.’