The National Basketball Association (NBA) is taking steps to reduce the parsing of inside information and lower levels of match manipulation in the sport as it continues to reel from serious allegations.
A memo sent to all teams from the organization on Friday detailed how the NBA is considering policy amendments to deal with tanking, which refers to when a team intentionally loses games, or fields a deliberately uncompetitive roster, to secure a higher pick in the annual draft lottery.
Other steps include changing the frequency of injury reporting, reducing the markets that sportsbooks can offer on a game, and an upgrade to its educational training on match-fixing. In total, there were six areas under consideration, all of which were drawn up in collaboration with different franchises .
The NBA has had to deal with a spate of match-fixing and betting-integrity issues. In October, federal prosecutors charged or indicted veteran guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former player and assistant coach Damon Jones as part of related federal gambling investigations examining alleged match manipulation and rigged poker games. Prosecutors said the cases involved multiple defendants across interconnected probes, rather than a single NBA-specific enforcement action.
New injury protocol to limit escape of information
Teams will now have a two-hour window to submit injury reports, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time. In addition, the public injury reports must be updated every 15 minutes, rather than hourly. It is thought this time discrepancy would allow bookmakers to put a hold on any trading decision if a big wager were to come in on a prop or player-focused bet. Previously, the timeframe was every hour.
The memo also states: “By 5 p.m. local time the day before a game (other than the second day of a back-to-back), teams must designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness, other medical condition, or other reason for any player whose participation in the game may be affected for any reason.
These amendments relate to charges involving an unnamed alleged co-conspirator accused of sharing non-public team information with bettors, according to a federal filing. They are alleged to have relayed information that The Trail Blazers would be tanking and resting star players ahead of a March 2023 game against The Chicago Bulls. It is hoped these steps will address similar instances happening in the future.
Tanking to be tanked
A common practice in basketball, it has long been a controversial topic. Teams whose season looks to be over towards the back end of the campaign have been accused of performing poorly so as to secure a better position in the draft. It is seen as antithetical to the entire premise of fair play in sports.
Back in March of this year, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged it was awkward for custodians of the sport to get involved with coaching decisions, but that it was necessary. He told a Board of Governors session: “The worst part of my job is fining and chasing teams and seemingly getting into coaches’ decisions about minutes and everything else. But we also want to make sure we’re upholding the integrity of the competition as well.”
The Utah Jazz were one such team that flew too close to the sun with NBA’s tanking rules last year. They were fined $100,000 for sitting Finnish star Lauri Markkanen in a violation of the league’s player participation policy. It was the Jazz’ worst season ever and were accused by many onlookers of flouting the rules on many occasions.
Their gamble didn’t pay off. They ended with the fifth overall draft pick, securing the services of forward Ace Bailey, who is averaging 10.5 points per game at the time of writing.
Prop bets to be limited
As Casino News reported last month, the NBA is part of a cabal of organizations aiming to work with betting operators to limit prop bets, which refers to the wagers on the statistical performance of individual players.
These steps include a restriction on how much can be wagered, limits on the number of “under” bets, lowering the number of players who feature in a prop bet, and taking away the types of bets that could be determined on an individual play.
The memo continued: “Core to the NBA’s position is that sports leagues should have control over the types of bets offered on their games. Because leagues currently do not have such control, any changes will need to be pursued via negotiation with sports betting operators, requests to state gaming regulators, legislative action, or some combination of these avenues.”
There are several betting operators who have partnerships with the league, including the likes of FanDuel and DraftKings.
