The NBA is removing several kinds of player bets from sportsbooks and expanding protections against bettor harassment. Tim Reynolds reports for the Associated Press that league memos set new restrictions for this season, nearly a year after arrests in gambling investigations.
The restrictions target bets on isolated actions and limited playing time. They cover the opening tip, which player records the first basket or other statistic, and whether a player misses a particular shot. Sportsbooks also cannot combine multiple bets on the same player falling below statistical thresholds into a parlay, a wager requiring several outcomes to occur. Taking the “under” on players expected to play only a few minutes is also prohibited. The rules extend to WNBA games in 2027.
Those bets create a particular integrity problem: a short appearance or an early departure can affect several statistical outcomes at once. Reynolds connects the changes to the Terry Rozier case, in which federal authorities alleged a scheme involving bets on his performance in a 2023 game. He also recalls Jontay Porter’s 2024 lifetime ban. The allegations against Rozier remain allegations in this report.
Players and staff carry costs beyond investigations. Following repeated complaints from players and coaches, the NBA is offering opt-in tools to identify and delete threatening or harassing social-media messages. It is also updating its fan code of conduct. Players, coaches and training staffs must attend in-person sessions on betting rules, while a new monitoring platform will analyze injury reports, social media and wagering patterns for suspicious activity.
The measures combine restrictions on what sportsbooks can sell with efforts to manage the consequences for athletes. Removing a bet changes the opportunity to exploit an individual action. Filtering abuse addresses what reaches a player’s screen after a wager goes wrong. AP reports the policies, but provides no evidence yet that the new restrictions or harassment tools reduce either problem.