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Face cards, fish, and insider info: What happened in NBA, Mafia-linked gambling probe?

5 33
23.10.2025

(NEXSTAR) — State and federal authorities on Thursday announced a sweeping investigation that linked more than 30 people — including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier — with two gambling schemes tied to multiple Mafia families.

These schemes are broken into two major cases, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said, with one related to insider sports betting and the other to rigged poker games. Though the cases are separate, Nocella said there are three defendants who have been charged in both.

So what happened?

‘One of the most brazen sports corruption schemes’

First, the sports betting.

Those accused of participating in this scheme allegedly shared insider information, like when a player would sit out in a future game or find a way to remove themself from a game, to bettors who could then set their prop bets accordingly.

Authorities explained Thursday that involved NBA players would alter their performance or take themselves out of a game — feigning injury or illness, for example — to ensure certain bets involving them paid out heavily.

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Most of those bets were prop bets, according to Nocella. A prop bet focuses on a player’s stats, like how many total points they’ll score, unlike other betting........

© The Hill