The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the league’s players’ association have indicated they will support further restrictions on prop bets to reduce the risk of athlete manipulation and abuse from bettors.
Speaking to ESPN, an NBA spokesperson said that: “Protecting the integrity of our game is paramount, and we believe reasonable limitations on certain prop bets should be given due consideration.
“Any approach should aim to reduce the risk of performance manipulation while ensuring that fans who wish to place prop bets can continue to do so via legal, regulated markets.”
A proposition bet (prop bet) is a set wager on a player or team that is not necessarily related to the full outcome of the game.
The proliferation of sports betting has been widespread since the US Supreme Court cleared the way for states to legalize sports betting back in 2018.
Billions of dollars have been generated by the gambling industry in collaboration with professional sports bodies, but the negative aspects have directly penetrated the games, too.
The NBA banned former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in April last year after he was found to have compromised his performance in two games, while Gilbert Arenas was arrested on suspicion of running illegal poker games, and Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley came under the spotlight in relation to prop bets during the 2023-24 season.
Over in MLB, Cleveland Guardians pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase were sent on paid leave following separate gambling probes, and most recently in NCAA, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer has faced scrutiny after screenshots of past references to “sports gambling” surfaced on his Venmo account, but the incident has been plated down as merely “inside jokes” with friends.
“Any approach should aim to reduce the risk of performance manipulation while ensuring that fans who wish to place prop bets can continue to do so via legal, regulated markets.”https://t.co/Ba9Rkqq7nE
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) August 15, 2025
Alarming source of player harassment, says NBPA
With players facing a federal gambling investigation, the NBA and its players’ union, the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), have backed further limitations on certain types of bets. As part of this move, the NBA has called on partner betting operators to remove markets on prop bets relating to players on two-way contracts, such as Porter at the time of the incident.
The NBPA believes the Porter scandal is an isolated case, with no other evidence presented of performance manipulation, but it is worried about how players are being targeted with abuse from unhappy punters.
“(The athletes) are concerned that prop bets have become an increasingly alarming source of player harassment, both online and in person, said an NBPA spokesperson
“If tighter regulations can help minimize that abuse, then we support taking a closer look at them.”
Jontay Porter, Terry Rozier, and Malik Beasley are three NBA players known to have been investigated as part of a federal gambling probe, but the latter two have not been charged with any criminal offense.
