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The NBA has permanently banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter from the league for violating its gambling rules, the league said in a statement on Wednesday. According to an internal investigation conducted by the NBA, Porter bet on NBA games, disclosed confidential information to other gamblers, and adjusted his participation in certain games to influence the outcome of certain bets.
The league started looking into Porter after a March 20th game against the Sacramento Kings in which Porter played for just three minutes. Porter left the game after saying he felt ill. Ahead of that game, Porter told “an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor” about his health status, according to the NBA’s statement. Another person then put an $80,000 parlay on the game, betting that Porter would underperform. The sports betting operators and an organization that monitors gambling markets brought the unusual bets to the NBA’s attention, and the sports book froze the $80,000 wager, which would have otherwise paid out to $1.1 million.
According to the investigation, Porter also bet on at least 13 NBA games using an associate’s account after signing with the Raptors. None of them were games he played in, but three involved a single Raptors game. In total, Porter wagered $54,094 during that timeframe, resulting in a $76,059 payout, the league claims.
Porter had an active VIP FanDuel account before signing with the Raptors in December of last year, Action Network reported. Multiple sources said Porter bet millions of dollars on that account between 2021 and 2023 while playing on three different NBA G League teams. Those bets didn’t involve any NBA or college basketball games, one source told Action Network.
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In September 2020, Porter began posting about gambling, stock trading, and cryptocurrency on X under the account @TayTrades11, Daily Hive reports. The account has been mostly dormant since 2023.