NBA Tells Sportsbooks To Halt Certain Bets
David Genge Published 19/10/2026
The NBA has sent a letter to online sportsbooks telling the sites to bring to a halt certain prop bets and parlays on NBA games. Many of the bets that the NBA would like to see prohibited are the type of player props and parlays that have been part of recent basketball betting scandals.
The NBA does maintain the right to place restrictions on what its partner sportsbooks, which include DraftKings and FanDuel, can offer through agreements with the league. Estimates are that NBA partner sportsbooks handle 99% of all wagers placed on the league. The 2026-27 NBA regular-season schedule is set to begin on Tuesday, October 20.
The NBA is targeting specific types of bets in its sportsbook prohibition
The bets the NBA is clamping down on include many player prop wagers that history shows can be easily manipulated to bettors' advantage. The NBA is directing authorized gambling operators to eliminate prop bets on the winner of the opening tip, players missing specific shots, and any under bets on the stats of players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes in a game.
There will also be a prohibition on bettors including any under plays from the same player's statistics in a parlay card. The NBA issued a directive to all teams outlining these new measures.
The league recognizes that prohibiting legal and regulated sportsbooks from offering certain bets could prove a double-edged sword. It may only be serving to encourage the offering of those bets by illegal offshore online sports betting sites.
"There's a balance between ensuring that we are removing problematic bet types but also ensuring that we don't just move activity into the illegal market," NBA executive vice president Scott Kaufman-Ross told ESPN. "And where we landed right now, we think, is the right balance of those two objectives."
These types of wagers were part of recent basketball betting scandals
These specific types of wagers were at the root of recent betting scandals. The scandals involved former NBA players Jontay Porter and Terry Rozier.
"Seeing where we may have had issues in the past is one of the inputs to determining the types of things that we think could be problematic," Kaufman-Ross said.
Porter has admitted in court that he intentionally removed himself early from a game. He was making this decision to benefit bettors placing prop bets on his stats for that game.
A criminal complaint filed against Porter showed that a bettor placed an $80,000 parlay on Porter. The bet combined Porter's assists, rebounds, points, 3-pointers, steals, and blocks on the same parlay cards. This was taking place in a March 2024 game between Porter's Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings. Porter played just three minutes in that game. The bet would have paid $1.1 million.
Federal prosecutors were seeing similar red flags involving the under on Rozier's stats. This was during in a March 2023 game between his Charlotte Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played for only nine minutes that night. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is denying any wrongdoing.
Betting sites are in agreement with all NBA requests
The online betting sites that partner with the NBA are willingly going along with these changes.
"The legalized sports betting industry is built on a foundation of dialogue and collaboration with our league partners and the states in which we operate," a FanDuel spokesperson said in a statement to ESPN. "We remain unwavering in our commitment to building a legal and regulated market that roots out abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and damage the integrity of the games we love."
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