US EditionNBA Faces Illegal Sports Betting and Poker Schemes Scandal
Thirty-four charged in schemes involving rigged poker games and illegal NBA sports betting, with losses exceeding $7 million, FBI says.
- On Thursday, federal prosecutors charged Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones among 34 people in illegal gambling and mob-backed rigged poker cases, with Rozier arrested in Orlando and Billups in Portland.
- Investigators say the charges stem from a poker ring backed by La Casa Nostra and the Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno, and Lucchese families, involving organized crime networks and large-scale fraud since April 2019.
- Prosecutors say the rigged poker scheme caused losses to victims of at least $250,000, and in the East Hampton June 2023 game, defendants defrauded two players out of more than $150,000.
- The NBA reacted by placing Rozier and Billups on immediate leave while Portland named Tiago Splitter interim head coach, canceled Thursday practice, and courts released defendants with bond, passport surrender, travel limits, and no gambling.
- The wider betting landscape — reshaped since the U.S. Supreme Court May 2018 ruling — raises concerns as indictments unsealed in New York reveal tens of millions of dollars in alleged fraud, with FBI Director Kash Patel calling it `This is the insider trader saga of the NBA`.
22 Articles
22 Articles
NBA faces illegal sports betting and poker schemes scandal
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heats player Terry Rozier were arrested on October 23 along with more than 30 other people in the takedown of two sprawling #gambling operations. Authorities said they were respectively accused of participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games tied to #mafia families and leaking inside information about players to win #bets on #NBA games. A scandal that hits the basketball…
Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Heat’s Terry Rozier among those arrested in federal gambling, organized crime probe
shutterstock_2664740797-1256607Federal authorities announced Thursday that more than 30 people across 11 states — including Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones — have been charged in a
Heat's Terry Rozier and Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups charged in sports betting and Mafia-backed poker schemes
More than 30 people charged in connection with schemes involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games backed by the Mafia, authorities said on Thursday.
Terry Rozier Receives Strong Support from Heat Coach and Teammates Amid Ongoing Gambling Scandal
The Miami Heat are standing behind Terry Rozier in the wake of his shocking arrest, as head coach Erik Spoelstra and star forward Bam Adebayo publicly voiced their support for the veteran guard on Friday. Just a day after Rozier was taken into FBI custody as part of a sprawling investigation into Mafia-linked illegal gambling and insider betting, Spoelstra addressed the media at practice, making it clear that while the organization couldn’t disc…
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