Sometimes You Shouldn't Bet On Yourself
About that NBA betting scandal...
If Bravo and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. You in? Subscribe and tell your friends. It means the world!
With just days left to go in Problem Gambling Awareness Month (yes, really), we have another sports betting scandal on our hands.
On Monday, sources told ESPN that Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter was under investigation following multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past several months.
At the center of the story are multiple prop bets on games Porter played in on January 26th and March 20th.
To put it into food terms, a prop bet is the extra guacamole on your chicken bowl at Chipotle. It costs a little extra, but it’s your favorite accouterment, so you shell out that extra $2.65 anyway.
According to ESPN, during the Raptors’ January 26th game against the Los Angeles Clippers, there was increased better interest on the under for Porter props. However, Porter only played four minutes and left after “an aggravation of an eye injury.”
After the game, DraftKings Sportsbook stated that the under on Porter's 3-pointer was the biggest money-winner of the night for any NBA player across the league….
A source told ESPN that multiple betting accounts allegedly bet amounts upwards of $10,000 and $20,000 on Porter’s unders during this game.
Hrrrm…the math isn’t mathing!
On March 20th, the Raptors played the Sacramento Kings and Porter played just three minutes before leaving due to an illness and didn’t return to the game….
As math would have you, DraftKings Sportsbook reported again that Porter’s prop bets were the top earner of the night across the league.
On top of that, someone on Reddit pointed out that a there’s a trading account on X that may or may not be associated with Porter. The jury is still out on that, but…the evidence is definitely something.
Listen: If these were bets placed on players like LeBron James or Steph Curry, people wouldn’t blink an eye. They are the best players in the league!
When I say Porter isn’t the best player in the league, what I really mean is he is essentially a long-term substitute teacher for your AP US History teacher who goes out on a mysterious leave, but really it was just their honeymoon for two weeks.
Porter is on a two-way contract, which basically means he’s not very good. Ironically, his brother Michael Porter Jr. is a star player for the Denver Nuggets.
The! Family! Tension!
Here’s the thing though: Even though Porter is a budget NBA player, he’s still making $415,000 for the season!
What is this man doing embarrassing himself by yes-anding his way into a possible fake eye injury to allegedly win $10,000 on himself when he’s making almost half a million a year??
At least with the Shohei Ohtani betting scandal, we’re talking about a real chunk of change, not a 7-night stay at a four-star hotel in Hawaii for someone’s honeymoon.
Anyways!
To better understand the history of sports betting and get an actual expert’s POV on the Porter story, I chatted with Bleacher Report’s Michael Ritter, the Associate Manager for Social at B/R Betting.
Read our full conversation below and be sure to sound off in the comments with *your* thoughts on the matter…
An Interview With A Sports Betting Expert
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Can you provide just a brief overview of how the NBA got itself involved in sports betting and a little bit more broadly how other major sports leagues have tied themselves to betting?
Sports betting has been around as long as sports have been around. It's something that has always kind of been hush hush, under the table, not legal.
For a long time, the only place you could actually legally bet on sports was in Nevada in Las Vegas. That's why for the longest time, people when they would go out there—for March Madness like we just had—they would go out there and place bets on sports.
Then if you were anywhere else in the country, it was usually done behind closed doors. Organized crime was usually where most of it came from with bookies.
It was kind of something that everyone knew people were doing, but there was no regulation on it at all.
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that it could be a state-by-state to make it legal. Now I think we're up to 37 or 38 states that have legalized betting.
Not every state has mobile betting—which is kind of where it's really blown up—but the majority of those do.
What has been the biggest impact on the NBA, specifically, that you've seen with betting in either a positive or negative way?
The NBA more than probably any other sport both benefits and has issues with parlay betting, specifically player props.
For a long time, the main thing that people would bet on is a spread or a total or a money line. Those are kind of the traditional big three.
That's where things always used to be. You can now parlay those player props in the same game or you can do one from each. I can get Anthony Davis rebounds and add it to Chet Holmgren blocks, with Luka Dončić points.
That I would say for the NBA, is probably the most popular thing that I see is player prop betting in the NBA.
Specifically, parlaying them with other props from other games or just in the same game.
Is that essentially like making your own lunch special deal at a restaurant where you're like, “I want to take this Anthony Davis bet, with LeBron James. He's going to score this many points.” And you pair it with who you think will win the game?
Exactly. That's that's a perfect way to describe it.
It's a joke how the NFL there was that meme for a while that the NFL was scripted, and the script writers are crazy this year. Even in the NBA, you get some of that.
You're basically thinking like, “Hey, this is what I think is gonna happen in the game tonight. Here's the script of what I think it's going to be. It's going to be Damian Lillard’s going to have 20+ points and Anthony Davis is gonna go under these points.” That's kind of exactly how it is.
You pull out what exactly you want for the game and you put it in there. You can see the odds and see how much you could win. You could take things out, put them in.
What do you think are the implications of the Jontay Porter scandal from your perspective?
My opinion on it is—hate to say this—but they're going to make an example of Jontay Porter. If he is found guilty, he will get a lifetime ban from the National Basketball Association. I fully believe that.
The only other real big example is Pete Rose—who was a horrible human being for other reasons besides sports betting—but he was found and said that he was betting on baseball games, including games that he was managing and playing in. Never admitted if he was betting on his team or against his team; it doesn't matter.
If you go after the integrity of the game like that, then you have no right to be participating in something like that.
You can't do that—just full stop. With the stuff that's happened in the NFL, the Shohei [Ohtani] stuff, I don't want to say that we're coming to a point of a reckoning when it comes to sports betting, but things need to change.
Now it's all being regulated, we're actually seeing more of this now. I do believe that.
I think this is something that has been happening before, but because it wasn't a regulated thing in these certain states, it was the wild west, so you could get away with it unless somebody caught you in the act kind of thing.
Now, we have these watchdog companies that are always looking. Their job is to look for this kind of stuff. I think it's going to keep happening, but if you're found guilty, I think that's it.
You don't get you don't get a second chance for stuff like this.
Other Pointless Sports Gossip
Speaking of sports betting, the NCAA just announced that they are officially seeking a ban on all player prop bets in college sports. (via The Athletic)
Please watch former NBA player Matt Barnes attempt to trap a possum in his house. (via X)
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce allegedly shut down celeb gym DogPound in West Hollywood earlier this week for a private workout. I will really lose my mind if they do one of those Hailey Bieber-approved pilates classes…You know the one. (via WEHO TIMES)
A record number of fans attended the opening rounds of the Women’s March Madness tournament. (via Front Office Sports)
Allegedly Diddy’s drug mule is a former Syracuse men’s basketball player… (via TMZ)
Zendaya wore a dress to a press event for Challengers with a tennis player on it and I’ll leave you with this… (via X)
If Bravo and ESPN had a baby, it would be Impersonal Foul. You in? Subscribe and tell your friends. It means the world!
You can follow me on Instagram here, Twitter here and TikTok here. Enjoy the endless void of content!
Great insight in that interview