The Commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), Adam Silver, has been asked by the US Congress to provide a briefing concerning the recent gambling scandal that has rocked the sporting world.
In a letter directed to the current commissioner and seen by ReadWrite, the request was made for his response no later than October 31, 2025, concerning the FBI investigation into rigged poker games, match and player abuse of NBA betting regulations, and accusations of wire fraud.
NBA Commissioner Silver asked to present to Congress on the gambling scandal
As we reported, as part of a thirty-one-person sting, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former NBA star Damon Jones were arrested.
The charges laid against the three “range from wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and illegal gambling. This FBI will leave no room for any perpetrating of crime across this country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel as part of the press announcement.
Rozier and Billups were subsequently suspended as part of an official correspondence, but as of yet, there has been no line from Silver on the request from Congress.
The following has been released by the NBA. pic.twitter.com/vJ4bL2JwiC
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) October 23, 2025
Congress requests Silver to report on five key areas
Commissioner Silver was specifically asked to address five key questions in the letter from Congress, including:
- Details about the fraudulent, illegal, and alleged betting practices in connection with NBA players, coaches, and officials, including the actions of NBA players and coaches identified in the recent indictment, as well as prior instances
- Actions the NBA intends to take to limit the disclosure of non-public information for illegal purposes
- Whether the NBA’s Code of Conduct for players and coaches effectively prohibits illegal activity, including the disclosure of non-public information for the purposes of illegal betting schemes
- An explanation of the gaps, if any, in existing regulations that allow illegal betting schemes to occur
- Whether and how the NBA is re-evaluating the terms of its partnerships with sports betting companies.
Silver’s appearance on the Pat McAfee show was specifically mentioned by Congress, highlighting a point he made in regards to “two-way” player contracts.
On two-way players, Silver admitted they could be at risk of manipulation, saying “We’ve asked some of our partners to pull back some of the prop bets, especially when they’re on two-way players, guys who don’t have the same stake in the competition where, you know, it’s it’s too easy to manipulate something which seems otherwise small and inconsequential to the overall score.”
Congress touched on previous breaches, saying “Illegal sports betting based on non-public information in the NBA is not a new problem,” referring to Porter pleading guilty to wire fraud for his fraudulent actions in multiple NBA games under the FBI microscope.
Silver also stated as part of the interview that he would like to see a federal remit on some betting lines, saying, “We (The NBA) accept betting is legal in roughly 35 states now in the United States. I think probably there should be more regulation. Frankly, it may be surprising to hear from me. I wish there was federal legislation rather than state by state.”
In closing, the letter has instructed Commissioner Silver to give his briefing for the end of October, which will set out the stall for betting breaches and action the five points Congress has asked him to cover.
Featured image: Jen Pottheiser/Wikimedia
