What we know about NBA gambling and poker-fixing arrests

US authorities on Thursday announced several high-profile arrests, including a star player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), over alleged illegal sports betting.

Among the detainees are Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, both of whom were reportedly arrested after their teams’ games on Wednesday.

The arrests are part of a wide-ranging investigation into illegal gambling that has produced two indictments, the FBI said – one for players allegedly faking injuries to influence betting odds, and another involving an illegal poker ring linked to organized crime.

Here’s what we know about the cases.

FBI Director Cash Patel described the allegations to reporters as “staggering.”

They include indictments in two major cases, officials said, both involving fraud.

The first case is called “operation nothing but a bet,” in which players and associates allegedly used inside information to manipulate bets on major sports betting platforms.

In some cases, players altered their performance or removed themselves from games to make sure those bets were paid, according to New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Those bets totaled tens of thousands of dollars in profit.

The second case is more complex in nature, officials say, and involves four of New York’s five major crime families as well as professional athletes.

The defendants in that case allegedly participated in a scheme to fix illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.

They did so using “highly sophisticated” technology, including vending machines, special contact lenses and glasses to read pre-marked cards, according to authorities. They also used an x-ray table that could read face-down cards.

Victims were allegedly lured into playing in those games with former professional athletes, who acted as “face cards” in the scheme. The victims were unaware that everyone, including the dealer and other players, were involved in the scam.

Authorities said they began investigating these poker games in 2019, which span multiple locations including the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami and Manhattan.

The accused allegedly laundered profits through bank wires and cryptocurrencies.

They also allegedly committed acts of violence, including robbery at gunpoint and extortion of victims.

Both schemes totaled tens of millions of dollars in theft and robbery over several years and 11 states, authorities said.

In all, authorities say 34 defendants have been indicted on charges related to the two fraud cases.

Six have been charged in the first case of players who allegedly faked injuries to influence betting odds, including Miami Heat player Rozier.

New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that in March 2023, Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly let other people close to him know that he planned to leave the game early due to an alleged injury.

Members of the group then used that information to make bogus bets and big money, she said.

Commissioner Tisch said Thursday after Rosie’s arrest that his “career is already over, not because of injury, but because of integrity.”

Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested. He was said to have been involved in two games that were allegedly part of the scheme, when the Los Angeles Lakers met the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023 and a January 2024 game between the Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Authorities have identified a total of seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 that were part of the case:

• February 9, 2023 – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks

• March 23, 2023 – Charlotte Hornets vs. New Orleans Pelicans

• March 24, 2023 – Portland Trail Blazers vs. Chicago Bulls

• April 6, 2023 – Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

• January 15, 2024 – Los Angeles Lakers – Oklahoma City Thunder

• January 26, 2024 – Toronto Raptors – Los Angeles Clippers

• March 20, 2024 – Toronto Raptors – Sacramento Kings

Another case related to illegal poker games involved a total of 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Billups, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year.

Authorities announced that three defendants have been charged in both cases.

Thirteen members and associates of the Bonanno, Genovese and Gambino crime families in New York were also indicted in the illegal poker case.

Charges include robbery, extortion, bank fraud, wire fraud and illegal gambling.

The defendants were arrested and are scheduled to appear in court later Thursday, authorities said. They are expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn, New York, at a later date.

In a statement Thursday, the NBA said it is in the process of reviewing the federal charges that have been announced and is cooperating with authorities.

The league added that Rozier and Billups were placed on “immediate” suspension from their respective teams.

“We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority,” the statement said.

Authorities said the alleged scheme involved four of New York’s five known crime families.

Five families – the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese – have ruled the city’s Italian-American mafia since 1931.

Major mob busts reduced the prevalence of mob activity in the 1990s, with the help of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

But as Thursday’s indictments show, the mafia hasn’t completely disappeared.

The five families are part of a larger American-Sicilian mafia operation known as La Cosa Nostra, which translates to “this thing of ours,” and members often work closely with their counterparts in Sicily.

On the Italian side, gangsters consider New York to be a “gym” where their members go to strengthen themselves, says Ana Sergi, professor of criminology and expert on modern organized crime. he told the BBC earlier.