NBA bans Jontay Porter for life after violation of gambling rules

It has recently been confirmed that Jontay Porter, Toronto Raptor’s forward, has been officially banned for life by the NBA for "disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his own participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games." 

The NBA player has recently been involved in a massive gambling scandal following the discovery of multiple betting irregularities on the sport matches that he took part in within the span of a few months.  

These betting irregularities include prop bets on Porter’s scoring, rebound, and assist totals. The player’s direct violation of the NBA’s very strictly adhered to league gambling rules has placed Porter in very murky waters. 

Much like all other major professional sport leagues, The National Basketball Association (NBA) enforces a very strict policy when it comes to sports betting and its involvement in the lives of their players. 

If you’d like to read more about Porter’s involvement in the massive sports betting scandal that took place a few weeks prior to this announcement, make sure to read our article here! 

What has been unveiled by the NBA’s investigation 

The league’s investigation into Jontay Porter’s case commenced shortly after the NBA was informed about multiple betting irregularities surrounding his player performance.  

In particular, these unusual gambling patterns were identified in the basketball game that took place on March 20th, pitting the Toronto Raptors against the Sacramento Kings. 

The NBA became aware of these betting irregularities from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets.” 

According to a statement issued by the NBA, Porter had "disclosed confidential information about his own health status to an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor” prior to the game that took place on March 20th. 

During the game itself, Porter had only played for a total of 3 minutes before tapping out of the match with the claim of suffering from an illness. For this reason, none of his stats met the totals set in the parlay. 

Had these betting irregularities gone unnoticed, an $80,000 bet stipulating that the Toronto Raptor’s player would not manage to hit the numbers set for him in the parlays would have won $1.1 Million. 

In addition to this, the investigation revealed that there were significantly more betting irregularities surrounding other basketball matches that Porter had participated in. 

For more information about these unusual gambling patterns, read our article on the matter here. 

Porter placed bets against the Toronto Raptors 

The NBA also revealed that, in addition to discussing his health status with other bettors, Porter had placed some bets with the use of sportsbooks himself. 

To place these bets, Porter had utilized another individual’s sports betting account. A total of 13 bets had been placed on NBA games from this account. 

The bets that he placed ranged from $15 to $22,000, and the total amount that he spent was $54,094. 

Having generated a payout of $76,059, the total winnings that player accumulated amounted to $21,965. 

It was discovered that none of the games that Porter had placed bets on involved his own player participation. 

Porter did, however, bet against his own Toronto Raptors team. 

Three of his wagers were on multi-game parlays, one of which was a wager on the Toronto Raptors to lose. 

It was later revealed that all three of these wagers were losing bets. 

Comments made with regards to the news of this lifetime ban 

In a press release, Adam Silver, the Commissioner of the NBA, stated the following: 

"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.  

"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." 

So far, Porter is the second individual who has been permanently banned by the Commissioner for overtly violating the strict rules of the NBA.  

The first individual to receive this ban by Silver was Donald Sterling, the billionaire owner of Los Angeles Clippers who, back in 2014, was given a lifetime ban after some private recordings of him making racist comments were made public. 

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) also had something to say about this recent announcement regarding the fate of the Toronto Raptor’s player, and made the following statement whilst addressing the matter: 

“The AGCO is aware of the NBA’s announcement regarding Jontay Porter and is pleased the league has addressed the matter promptly and decisively. This serious case of alleged insider betting and match-fixing was identified because regulated markets, like Ontario’s, require online gaming companies and independent integrity monitors to actively monitor and report suspicious betting, which then allows sports leagues, regulators, and law enforcement to respond appropriately.  

“The AGCO requires all Ontario-registered gaming operators to ensure the sport betting products they offer are on events that are effectively supervised by a sport governing body. At a minimum, the sport governing body must have – and enforce – codes of conduct that prohibit betting by insiders. The NBA’s action on this matter speaks well of the integrity safeguards and oversight they have in place related to insider betting and match-fixing.” 

Shortly before the NBA’s announcement of Porter’s permanent ban, the President of the Toronto Raptors, Masai Ujiri, made the following comments regarding the player's fate: 

“You don’t want this for the kid, you don’t want this for our team and we don’t want this for our league, that’s for sure. My first reaction is obviously surprise, because none of us, I don’t think anybody, saw this coming.” 

Following the NBA’s announcement, the Toronto Raptors basketball team stated that they are “fully supportive of the league’s decision to ban Jontay Porter from the NBA and are grateful for the swift resolution to this investigation. We will continue to cooperate with all ongoing inquiries.” 

Porter’s violation of the NBA’s gambling rules 

The NBA’s investigation ultimately revealed that Porter was in direct violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

This Agreement states the following: 

“Any Player who, directly or indirectly, wagers money or anything of value on any game or event in the Association or in the NBA G League shall, on being charged with such wagering, be given an opportunity to answer such charges after due notice, and the decision of the Commissioner shall be final, binding, and conclusive and unappealable.” 

In their final statement, the NBA stated that the probe “remains open and may result in further findings”, leaving room for more revelations regarding the Toronto Raptors forward to be revealed, and thus to be shared with federal prosecutors. 

More about Jontay Porter 

Jontay Porter is a 24-year-old American basketball player whose brother, Michael Porter Jr., plays for the famous Denver Nuggets in the NBA.  

The former Toronto Raptors player occupied the position of center and power forward in the NBA league. 

Following the NBA’s discovery of various betting irregularities associated with his name, and his subsequent ban from the league, Porter has been silent, having taken time off from the team for “personal reasons”. 

• Between 2017 and 2019, Porter played basketball at Missouri, where he earned SEC Sixth Man of the year and SEC All-Freshman honors. 

• Due to an ACL injury, Porter failed to be drafted into the 2019 NBA draft. 

• In March 2020, he signed a contract with the Memphis Grizzlies and, between 2020 and 2021, made a total of 11 appearances with this team. 

• In July 2021, the Memphis Grizzlies waived him. 

• Between 2022 and 2023, Porter first played with the Wisconsin Herd, then with the Motor City Cruise. 

• In December of last year, Porter signed a contract with the Toronto Raptors and, prior to receiving a lifetime ban, made a total of 26 appearances with them.