Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been suspended from the NBA

TORONTO — The NBA has banned Jontay Porter for life after it concluded its investigation into gambling allegations against the former Toronto Raptors point guard.

A league investigation found Porter violated league rules by disclosing confidential information to sports bettors, limiting his participation in one or more games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games.

All three are banned under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.

Porter averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 13.8 minutes in 26 games with Toronto this season.

He also played with the G-League's Raptors 905, but center Jacob Poeltl, who suffered a season-ending hand injury, played more with Toronto in March.

An NBA investigation found that Porter disclosed confidential information about his medical condition to what he believed to be a bettor before the Raptors' March 20 game against the Sacramento Kings.

Another person connected to Porter and known as an NBA player later placed an $80,000 bet with an online sportsbook to win $1.1 million, betting on Porter's 123-89 loss to Sacramento.

Short for “proposal bet”, this is a bet that is not based on the final score or result of the game, but often on an aspect of the player's performance.

The league's investigation also found that Porter limited his participation in at least one Raptors game to influence the outcome of one or more bets on his performance. In the March 20 game, Porter said he was not feeling well and played just three minutes. Due to the player's unusual betting behavior and actions, the $80,000 offering bet was suspended and unpaid.

In addition, between January and March 2024, the Raptors or Raptors 905 Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games using an online betting partner while traveling. These bets ranged in size from $15 to $22,000 for a total of $54,094. The total payout for these bets was $76,059, resulting in a net winning of $21,965.

None of the bets involved a game played by Porter. Three of the bets were multi-game parlays, including one Raptors game in which Porter bet the Raptors would lose. All three bets were lost.

Suspicious bets were brought to the NBA's attention by licensed sports betting operators and an organization that oversees the legal betting market.

The investigation into Porter's conduct came as news broke of an alleged gambling scandal involving Los Angeles Dodgers superstar interpreter Shohei Ohtani.

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 17, 2024.