A massive gambling scandal has gripped American basketball, with players and coaches facing charges.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Attorney in Brooklyn announced two indictments alleging a massive fraud conspiracy involving current and former basketball players, coaches, and members of New York organized crime families. On Thursday, the FBI also arrested NBA players suspected of being involved in the scam.
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The news comes during the opening week of the NBA season, as the league kicks off a new broadcast deal worth $76 billion over 11 years. This is the latest in a series of scandals to hit the U.S. sports world since sports betting began in 2018.
Here’s what we know:
What is the NBA gambling scandal?
A wide-ranging federal investigation has rocked the world of professional basketball, revealing ties between NBA celebrities and organized crime in an illegal gambling network worth millions of dollars.
“The investigative effort that culminated in this morning’s operation is reminiscent of a Hollywood movie. But it was neither lucky nor theatrical,” said Ricky Patel, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, who led the ongoing investigation.
A total of 34 people were arrested in 11 states. Those arrested included Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cleveland Cavaliers player Damon Jones.
Authorities announced they unsealed the indictment on Thursday and conducted coordinated arrests across the country.
pic.twitter.com/UcOBnWxe00
— FBI (@FBI) October 23, 2025
First Indictment: Sports Betting Scheme (United States v. Eric Earnest Indictment)
In the first case, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and several others are accused of using insider information to place targeted bets on players who were underperforming in points, assists and rebounds, knowing when a player would be sidelined or retired due to an “injury.”
“They also misused information gained through their long-standing friendships with NBA players and coaches,” said Joseph Nocera, interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
The indictment focuses on seven games in 2023 and 2024 where hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of illegal gambling allegedly took place.
Rozier’s lawyer denies all charges and says his client will fight the legal charges.
Second Indictment: Poker Cheating (United States v. Aiello)
The second case focuses on a sophisticated poker fraud ring allegedly organized by a New York organized crime group.
Prosecutors said the victims were lured into a high-stakes poker game where they were told they would be competing against famous former athletes, including Chauncey Billups, the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers.
However, the game was rigged. The criminal group allegedly used fake shuffle machines and X-ray poker tables that revealed players’ hidden cards to scam victims out of huge sums.
In total, the victims lost at least $7 million, officials said. Those charged include game organizers, cheating equipment suppliers, and participants, including Billups, who allegedly participated in several similar games in 2019.
Prosecutors say the scheme was supported by members of the Bonano, Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese crime families, which controlled parts of New York’s underground poker circuit. These groups allegedly collected a portion of the profits, forced payments through extortion and robbery, and laundered the proceeds through cryptocurrencies and other channels.
Along with the Colombo family, the Bonano, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese groups represent the “Five Families” that have controlled New York’s Italian-American Mafia since 1931. They form part of a broader American-Sicilian network known as La Cosa Nostra (Ours), whose members maintain connections with their Sicilian peers.
Thirteen members of the crime family and their associates were also indicted.
Who are the former and current NBA players named in the indictment?
Defendants named in the indictment include former and current NBA players.
Chaucey Billups: Head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. Billups allegedly served as a “face card” (a celebrity used to attract players) for rigged poker games. Billups was also a star player at the time, spending 17 years in the NBA, most of those years with the Detroit Pistons.
Damon Jones: Former NBA player, assistant coach in Los Angeles for the 2022-23 season. Jones is accused of providing inside information that allowed a network of co-conspirators to bet on winning games. And like Billups, he is also accused of helping wealthy people participate in poker games.
Terry Rozier: NBA player accused of providing insider information about his playing status as a member of the Charlotte Hornets to people involved in illegal sports betting. Federal investigators allege Rozier told co-workers before a 2023 Charlotte Hornets game that he would leave early due to an injury, resulting in large bets being placed on his “under.”
What was the alleged gambling scheme about?
From December 2022 to March 2024, the defendants allegedly executed a scheme to profit from NBA insider information by placing near-win bets and then hiding the traces of the funds.
Methodologies include:
Use of insider information
The group allegedly obtained nonpublic details from NBA players and coaches, including player injuries, game plans, and lineup changes. Jones allegedly used his NBA connections to access and sell or “attempt to sell” personal medical information. Other sources revealed when teams were “tanking” (deliberately losing) or resting key players. Jontay Porter, the American basketball player who last played for the Toronto Raptors, reportedly agreed to leave the game early so others could profit from betting on his poor performance. In some cases, this information was sold as part of cash or prizes, and payments were made through intermediaries to conceal the source.
Betting and Hiding
The defendants and their associates allegedly placed bets using licensed sportsbooks and illegal bookmakers, often through “straw bettors” who placed bets on their behalf to avoid detection. They focused on prop bets, betting the “under” on a player’s stats, especially when they knew the player would perform poorly or be taken out early. Bets were placed before injury news or lineup changes became public, guaranteeing better odds. They lied through omission to the gambling company and failed to disclose that the gambling was based on insider information.
hide profits
To disguise the winnings, the group allegedly moved funds through cash exchanges, bank wires, and peer-to-peer payment apps. In one case, Marbeth Fairey collected tens of thousands of dollars in cash from co-conspirators after winning bets and passed it on to others in the network.
How was the poker game allegedly rigged?
According to the indictment, the defendants and their partners used high-tech cheating devices and secret communication systems to control the outcome of underground poker games.
Some methods include:
hidden reader
They allegedly used a “cheating shuffle” machine that looked normal but was able to scan and read every card in a deck. This allows the co-conspirators to know in advance which players have winning hands. The card information was then transmitted wirelessly to an off-site “operator,” who relayed the information over the phone to an insider at the table known as the “quarterback” or “driver.” That player used secret signals to share important information with other team members participating in the game. The accused crime family members and their associates “used intimidation and intimidation to ensure payment of debts.”
Other tools used:
Defendants also sometimes used other technologies, including:
An electronic poker chip tray that can secretly read cards placed on the table. A card analyzer hidden inside a modified mobile phone. Marked playing cards visible only to team members wearing specially designed contact lenses or sunglasses.
Experts say this is unexpected.
“The idea that poker would be at least part of today’s news was unexpected,” Harvard law professor Mike McCann told Al Jazeera.
“Also, the role of the mafia, the suspicion that the mafia was involved in this, came out of nowhere,” he added.
What was the NBA’s reaction?
The NBA said in a statement Thursday that it is currently reviewing the newly announced federal charges and is cooperating fully with authorities.
The league also confirmed that Rozier and Billups have been placed on immediate leave of absence from their respective teams.
