The NBA reminded its teams on Friday that it wants to control which types of bets are offered on its games, an indicator that it will continue negotiating with sportsbooks and regulatory agencies to make that happen.
The moves come about two months after the arrests of Miami guard Terry Rozier and Portland coach Chauncey Billups on separate gambling-related charges, and the league acknowledged that what was announced Friday was to “further promote understanding of and adherence to the league’s betting rules.”
In a memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, the league detailed a list of changes — some minor, some not-so-minor — that it will implement as part of its policies regarding injury reporting, the issue of “tanking,” safety measures for players and coaches, and more.
Among the changes:
— Except on the second day of back-to-back games, teams will be required to resubmit injury reports on game days. For games that tip off at 5 p.m. or earlier, the additional report would come between 8-10 a.m.; otherwise, the additional report would come between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The league said the move would “further promote transparency regarding players’ game participation status, and thereby diminish the value of confidential information that could be ‘tipped’ ” to bettors or others.
Rozier is accused of disclosing to friends that he would be leaving a game early when he was with the Charlotte Hornets in March 2023, prompting bettors to make successful “under” wagers on his prop bet values for that night.
— The league said more “training touchpoints” would be made throughout the season to educate all league and team personnel on betting rules. The NBA also plans to have new “compliance measures (for) individuals who are not employed by a team and may have access to confidential team information.”
— The league will update its Fan Code of Conduct “to better protect NBA players, coaches, and other team personnel from harassment or threats by sports bettors.” Players and coaches have long said that fans, courtside and otherwise, often voice displeasure when they make unsuccessful wagers. The league said it’ll make more moves to protect its coaches and players, including advocating for “stronger anti-harassment protections in federal or state laws and regulations.”
— Tanking remains a major concern, and the NBA is again reviewing potential policy changes. None were announced Friday.
— The league will do more, it said, to better utilize artificial intelligence and other tools to protect the game from unusual betting activity. It also will continue pushing for changes on the so-called “prop bets,” which the NBA hopes will reduce the risk of having player performances manipulated.
Ref Eric Lewis reinstated
Also Friday, the NBA said Eric Lewis has been reinstated to the league’s officiating program as an NBA G League official. He will begin officiating games at this weekend at the G League Winter Showcase in Orlando, with a potential path toward returning to the NBA.
Lewis retired in August 2023 when he was under investigation by the NBA for potential violations of its social media policy. The sides have worked toward a potential return for some time, and the NBA said Lewis “fully participated in an investigation into his social media activities during his time as an NBA official.”
“In order to be eligible to rejoin the program, Lewis cleared several benchmarks, including stress management counseling and training on responsible use of social media,” the league said.
Lewis has worked as an NCAA referee for the last two seasons.
“Over nearly 20 years, Eric established himself as one of the NBA’s premier game officials,” said Byron Spruell, the NBA’s President overseeing League Operations. “While he made a mistake in engaging on social media, our investigation concluded that his behavior did not impact his ability to officiate games fairly and with integrity. We are confident he has learned from that experience and can properly serve the game again, first as an NBA G League official and potentially in a return as an NBA official.”
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