Recently, illegal gambling in the NBA has become an increasingly popular topic. On October 23rd, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were both arrested. Billups was arrested because of his participation in a rigged poker game that used technology to steal millions from victims who played. Along with that, he was also suspected of giving unfair information to some bettors before a series of games in 2023. As for Terry Rozier, he was arrested due to suspicion of participating in an illegal sports betting scheme, where he used insider information in at least seven games to make significant profits.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. called it “one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized in the United States.” The severity of the situation is more than most people realize. Terry Rozier’s antics affected the outcomes of games because it is noted that one of the statistics he would tell people to bet on was turnovers. So, Rozier was purposefully turning the ball over in some games; his turnovers made it a huge challenge for his team to win games.
When asked about Terry Rozier’s insider gambling, student Forrest Houle says, “It is ridiculous what Terry Rozier is doing, and I hope he faces severe repercussions.” On the topic of repercussions, Terry Rozier has been faced with huge charges. Rozier was released from custody on a 6 million dollar bond, and he was forced to give up his passport. When asked about Rozier’s punishment, student Will Pollenz said, “I think he deserved what he got because of how much it affected people everywhere.”
More recently, the NBA has requested to look through multiple teams’ cell phones on suspicion of illegal gambling. The Lakers are noted as one of the teams that have had their players’ cell phones requested. Besides the players, multiple Lakers employees have had their phones requested by the NBA. Illegal gambling in the NBA has become much more of an issue over the last few years, and it does not appear like it is going away anytime soon.
