By Owen Erler
The NBA has spent years walking a fine line between embracing sports betting and protecting the integrity of its games. Now, that balance is being tested again. Miami Heat guard, Terry Rozier, has become the latest name linked to an ongoing federal investigation into suspicious betting activity. What started as an ordinary regular-season game back in March 2023 has turned into one of the most talked about stories of the year.
It all began during a March 23 matchup between Rozier’s former team, the Charlotte Hornets, and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier, who had been averaging more than twenty points per game that season, played just under ten minutes before leaving with what was reported as a foot injury. His final stat line five points, four rebounds, two assists was far below his usual output. On its own, that might have meant nothing. Players get hurt and off nights happen. But behind the scenes, odd things were happening in the betting world. In the hour before tipoff, one bettor placed thirty separate wagers totaling nearly $13,800 on Rozier’s performance, all predicting that he would fall below his averages. Every single bet hit. The wave of action was so strong that several sportsbooks pulled Rozier’s prop bets entirely before the game even ended.
Those bets caught the attention of both the NBA and federal investigators. The league conducted its own review and said it found no direct evidence of wrongdoing. Still, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York launched a broader investigation into whether illegal betting rings had access to insider information about player injuries or availability. This investigation ended up throwing 31 players into the case including the head coach of the Portland Trailblazers Chauncy Billups. Chauncy Had an illegal gambling ring and had connections to 4 mafia families.
For Rozier, the attention has been uncomfortable and potentially career-altering. The Miami Heat placed him on administrative leave without pay as the investigation plays out. Rozier hasn’t spoken publicly about the situation, but those close to him describe him as a frustrated player who spent years proving himself in the league, only to have his name tied to something he insists he had nothing to do with. It’s a stark contrast to the energetic, fearless scorer fans have come to know.
The NBA, meanwhile, is under pressure to show it can police itself in the new age of legal gambling. Earlier this year, former Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban for leaking information and influencing bets on his own performance. The Rozier case is different there’s no evidence he threw a game or shared secrets but the optics alone are enough to make league officials uneasy. Every questionable pattern, every injury-timed wager, chips away at the public’s faith that games are decided by skill and effort, not odds and algorithms.
Rozier’s story is a caution to where professional sports are going. Legalized gambling has opened new revenue streams and new temptations for the players, creating a world where even an ordinary night’s box score can turn into a federal case. Whether Rozier is eventually cleared or charged, his situation is a reminder that in today’s NBA, trust is as valuable as talent and once that trust is questioned, it’s a hard thing to win back.
Players being involved with sports betting is nothing new. All the way back in 1919, eight players were accused of loosing the world series against the Cincinnati Reds. It is believed that the White Socks were going to be paid from a gambling ring led by organized crime figure Arnold Rothstein. In result the national baseball commission was shut down and a judge was appointed to be the first commissioner of the baseball league and was given full control over the sport to restore its integrity. The 8 players were banned for 106 years and in 2025 they have just been reinstated to play again even though the last member has died a long time ago.
Sports betting is already a problem as it is, but what about games set up for the sole purpose of gambling? These matches are called ghost games. The games work by criminals advertising a fake match. They go about this by creating fake social media pages or sometimes hacking an official team’s website. Book markers and data providers rely on data scouts. They attend the games and transmit real time updates to adjust the betting odds. In a ghost game the fixers either will corrupt a scout and have them provide fake data, or they will host a fake match and report it as official. An example of a ghost game would be the Ukrainian cup in 2020. During Covid when the world was on lockdown a fake tournament was created. Several matches were up for betting before the fraud was uncovered. Three matches were completed and put into the betting markets before it was uncovered. The clubs involved confirmed that they were under quarantine and had not participated in any sports activities. In the end investigations were lanced by the UAF and local law enforcement.
Graphic by Philip Berkwit
