Behind the Odds

For those who’ve had success while gambling, winning a huge bet is a feeling unlike any other.

A rush of dopamine as you knowingly take the risk to play some hard-earned money in hopes of making more…

Positive reinforcement from close friends, avid sports fans alike; an encouraging group that finds entertainment at a time of excitement…

Talks of the most glorified sports betters overtakes to the room; Mattress Mack made $75 million betting on an Astros World Series win… [1]

Your heart rate spikes as you commit to the unknown. It’s up to god now.

A world of uncertainty is what characterizes gambling in its essence.

But imagine if you controlled the outcome.

That’s what Toronto Raptors Forward Jontay Porter, brother of the well known Nuggets Wing Michael Porter Jr., attempted to do on January 26th and March 20th.

From a career that began in 2019, multiple ACL and MCL tears, as well as a few stints in the G-League, held Porter back from the NBA.

However, Porter would finally land a roster spot with the Raptors in December of 2023.

He quickly went to work, but not in a basketball sense.

January 26: A game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

That night “DraftKings flagged multiple irregularities,” which saw a high volume of bettors taking the ‘under’ for Porter’s props across the board.

Player prop bets are wagers that constitute over/under (more or less) on individual stats like points, rebounds, assists, or anything of the like.

Porter took the under on his rebounding and three-pointer totals.

According to ESPN, “five-figure wagers were placed on Porter props,” to which he left the game early due to an unspecified illness, having logged only 4 minutes.

That night, the under bet of Jontay Porter recorded the biggest moneymaker of the night in the DraftKings system. [2]

March 20: A game against the Sacramento Kings.

A very similar phenomenon occurs as high wagers were placed on Jontay Porter’s under for points.

The 6’10 athlete logged 8 scoreless minutes, leaving the game early due to a “re-aggravated illness.”

Who placed the bets for Porter?

How will the NBA take action?

Without answers to questions, we can only assume that regardless of the outcome, Porter’s penalty will be a harsh one as the NBA could plan to make an example of him.

For this scenario, how impactful will its implications be on the image of a professional athlete?

For legal sports gambling in the US, this has been but a mere growing pain.

“Since the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, 38 states, alongside Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, have legalized sports gambling, with many permitting mobile betting through applications like DraftKings and FanDuel.” [3]

Is it ethical to do what Porter did? Most would disagree with his action.

Regardless, it’s up to the states and leagues to dictate restrictions on sports betting.

For the NBA, teams and league employees may not bet on the league or any of its adjacent ‘properties’ (ie. WNBA, G-League, BAL, etc.). However, athletes are in fact allowed to bet on other sports like the NFL or NHL. [4]

Other leagues are more harsh, and I bet you can guess which powerful conglomerate takes this approach.

The NCAA does not allow anyone with a direct or indirect relationship to it (student-athletes, coaches, administrators, or officials) to bet on any NCAA-sponsored sport.

Parties that take the risk can be subject to part-time ineligibility or a harsher punishment the likes of permanent ineligibility and ‘Rules and Prevention Education’. [5]

The most egregious case for the NCAA was one involving LSU Football star Kayshon Boutte.

Boutte allegedly placed almost 9,000 illegal wagers, 17 on college football, and 6 on LSU Football games. [6]

His only saving grace was that he never once betted on himself, meaning he did not intend on throwing any games.

Nonetheless, in 2023, Louisiana police issued a warrant for the player’s arrest, as he was claiming the legal age at 21 to place the wagers when he was actually 20.

When considering the fact that he made over $500,000 on sports bets, Boutte’s $6,000 bail for his release seems much less dramatic. [7]

As sports gambling continues to gain traction with over 42.7 million interested Americans, according to americangaming.org, the industry has only scraped the surface for a laundry list of potential issues. [8]

Sport managers must look out for stakeholders in any and every role in order to best protect the image of their organization.

But for an addictive industry with endless profit possibilities, those stakeholders will have a lot on their hands for the time being.

The future developments of gambling in the industry will help paint an accurate picture of this dynamic.

How do you feel about gambling in sports?

Sources:

[1] Purdum, D. (2023, January 2). Notable bets: Mattress Mack and the wildest wagers and Betting tales of 2022. ESPN. https://www.espn.com/sports-betting/story/_/id/35362145/mattress-mack-wildest-wagers-betting-tales-2022?

[2] Sohi, S. (2024, April 2). Six questions about the jontay porter NBA gambling scandal. The Ringer. https://www.theringer.com/nba/2024/4/2/24117626/jontay-porter-nba-gambling-scandal-player-props?

[3] Richard L. Brand, E. F. (2024, February 26). 10 legal challenges for the sports industry in 2024. ArentFox Schiff. https://www.afslaw.com/perspectives/alerts/10-legal-challenges-the-sports-industry-2024?

[4] Reardon, L. (2024, March 27). What are the gambling policies for each sports league? here’s what players can and can’t bet on. NBC Los Angeles. https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/what-are-the-gambling-policies-for-each-sports-league-heres-what-players-can-and-cant-bet-on/3373795/?

[5] Holton, B. (2023, September 5). Sports betting hits Kentucky soon. here are the rules, and punishments, for NCAA athletes. Journal. https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/2023/09/05/sports-betting-gambling-kentucky-ncaa-rules-punishments-violations-athletes/70714754007/?

[6] Parks, J. (2024, January 25). Former LSU star Kayshon Boutte charged in gambling scheme. College Football HQ. https://www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq/ncaa-football/kayshon-boutte-lsu-football-gambling-charges?

[7] Hunter, S. (2024, January 26). Kayshon Boutte charged in illegal sports gaming scheme. https://www.wafb.com. https://www.wafb.com/2024/01/25/kayshon-boutte-charged-illegal-sports-gaming-scheme/?

[8] Press Release (Ed.). (2024, February 6). Record 68 million Americans to wager $23.1B on Super Bowl LVIII. American Gaming Association. https://www.americangaming.org/new/record-68-million-americans-to-wager-23-1b-on-super-bowl-lviii/#:~:text=42.7%20million%20American%20adults%20plan,up%2032%20percent%20from%202023.?