(5MinNewsBreak.com) – The National Basketball Association (NBA) has imposed a lifetime ban on Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter after a comprehensive investigation uncovered that he had engaged in actions to alter his level of participation in a game, directly impacting the result of a bet.
In addition, Porter has been placing bets on NBA games himself, The New York Post reports.
The findings of the league indicated that Porter, 24, was involved in “disclosing confidential information to sports bettors” and “restricting his own involvement in one or more games for the purposes of betting.”
Porter, who divided his professional time between the Raptors and their G-League affiliate, was found to have placed at least 13 bets on NBA games from January to March of the current year.
Although none of these bets were on games in which he was a participant, he did place a bet on a combination that included the Raptors losing.
In the period leading up to the Raptors’ game against the Kings on March 20—a game Toronto lost 123-89—Porter disclosed information regarding his health status to a known NBA bettor.
Subsequently, an associate of Porter placed a $80,000 bet on a parlay proposition focusing on Porter’s underperformance in that game, aiming to win $1.1 million.
According to the NBA, Porter intentionally limited his participation in the game to influence the outcome of bets placed on his performance in at least one Raptors game.
Porter, whose brother Michael Porter Jr. is a renowned player for the Nuggets, participated for merely three minutes in the March 20 game, citing illness.
His performance concluded with no points and two rebounds, missing his only attempt at a field goal.
Due to the suspicious nature of the activity, the $80,000 bet was not processed for payment, the league stated.
Raptors President Masai Ujiri expressed deep regret over the situation.
“You don’t want this for the kid, you don’t want this for our team and we don’t want this for our league, that’s for sure,” Ujiri commented shortly before the NBA’s announcement of Porter’s ban.
“My first reaction is obviously surprise, because none of us, I don’t think anybody, saw this coming,” he added.
Following the NBA’s announcement of the ban, the Raptors declared their complete support for the league’s decision to ban Jontay Porter from the NBA.
The investigation found that Porter made bets on NBA games using an associate’s online betting account, with wagers ranging from $15 to $22,000. Across these bets, he gambled a total of $54,094, winning $76,059, which resulted in a net gain of $21,965.
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