NBA bans Jontay Porter for life after he bet on NBA, influenced outcome of bets

Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA for life a day after the Action Network reported that he had managed a VIP account with FanDuel that bet millions of dollars over three years.

The league said in a statement that Porter disclosed confidential information to known sports bettors and limited his playing time in order for these bettors to profit.

It's the first major athlete to be banned for life in North America since the inception of legalized, online sports betting in 2018.

The NBA said its investigation found that prior to the Raptors' March 20 game vs. the Kings, Porter informed an individual "he knew to be an NBA bettor" about his health status. A different person who Porter knew to be an NBA bettor then placed an $80,000 parlay to win $1.1 million on Porter to underperform several different prop bets in one game.

Porter went on to play just three minutes before reporting an illness and leaving the game vs. the Kings. The $80,000 same game parlay was frozen and not paid out amid this irregular activity.

The NBA added that while he was a member of the Raptors and the Raptors' G League affiliate Raptors 905, he placed at least 13 bets on NBA games through an "associate's online betting account."

This activity from Jan. to March 2024 included a total of $54,094 in bets which resulted in a net win of just under $22,000. None of these wagers, the league said, involved games in which Porter participated.

Three bets were same game parlays that included one Raptors game, in which Porter bet on the Raptors to lose. All three bets lost.

The Action Network reported on Tuesday that Porter's FanDuel VIP account wagered several million dollars from 2021 to 2023. His account activity ceased after he signed a two-way contract with the Raptors in Dec. 2023 to adhere to NBA bylaws about betting on sportsbooks as an active NBA player.

Porter allegedly placed over 1,000 wagers at FanDuel during this time period. “He was firing all of the time,” a source said.

"There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. "While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game.”