An in-depth analysis of the NBA betting scandal: details of the three persons involved, impact on the league and legal consequences

In October 2025, the FBI's nationwide arrest operation targeting illegal sports betting and illegal poker games caused shock. More than 30 people were involved in the case, including NBA Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player/coach Damon Jones. Details of the cases were exposed, which not only impacted the credibility of the league, but also pushed the topic of "sports integrity" to the forefront. The following is an analysis from three aspects: the core information of the three persons involved in the case, the connection between the cases and the impact of the alliance, and the legal risks.

1. Core details of the case involving three people: from "insider leaks" to "poker manipulation"

1. Terry Rozier: Leaked the game early to leak information, and made millions in profits with 200,000 bets

As the representative of active players in this scandal, Rozier's core involvement in the case is "using internal information to manipulate personal data betting", and the incident can be traced back to 2023 Years when he played for the Hornets:

Key timeline: On March 23, 2023, Rozier left the game early after only playing 9 minutes on the grounds of "injury"; in October 2024, local time (after user description "October 24"), the day after the Heat lost to the Magic, he was detained in Orlando.

Involved behavior: Federal authorities accused him of disclosing undisclosed information to members of a gambling group in advance that he would leave the game early. The insider immediately placed more than $200,000 in special bets on his "lower-than-expected data" at multiple gambling companies. In the end, all bets were won. The gambling group won millions of dollars. Later, they went to Rozier's home to count the winnings.

Controversial points: The NBA had previously investigated Rozier for suspected illegal betting, but no violation was found; his lawyer Jim Trusty questioned the prosecutor's "impure motives" and said that Rozier was not a gambler. The prosecutors "relyed on low-credibility sources to publicly humiliate athletes to gain attention." When arrested, they refused to allow Rozier to surrender voluntarily and chose to "photograph for show."

Current status: Appeared in court (wearing handcuffs and shackles, wearing a Hornets hoodie) and was released with a Florida property worth $6 million as bail collateral. He was required to surrender his passport by the afternoon of the next day in court to face charges of money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy.

2. Chauncey-Billups: The Mafia is related to poker manipulation and is suspected of leaking the "destroy plan"

Trail Blazers coach Billups' involvement in the case is different from Rozier, focusing on "illegal poker game manipulation" and directly related to the American Mafia:

Background of the case: October 2025, local time In September (the early morning of the day after the Trail Blazers lost to the Timberwolves at home), Billups was arrested at his home in Portland. The case involved was named "Operation Royal Flush" by the FBI. The investigation lasted for four years and the victims suffered losses of at least $7 million.

Core behavior: Participating in an underground poker game manipulation scheme supported by the Bonanno family, Gambino family, and Genovese family (all core families of the American Mafia), using the identity of a "signature character" to lure "novice players" to participate in illegal and rigged high-stakes poker games. The gang involved used cheating technologies: tampered card shufflers (which can read deck information and pass it to off-site commanders), built-in hidden cameras, card-readable chip trays, and specially marked card recognition glasses; they even robbed victims at gunpoint to obtain the tampered card shufflers. Some players lost $1.8 million in the manipulated game. Additional charges: He allegedly revealed to a co-conspirator inside information that the Trail Blazers were going to mess up and intentionally lose games to improve their draft picks, and the other party used that information to place bets of at least $5,000.

League reaction: The Trail Blazers have officially announced that Billups has resigned and assistant coach Splitter will serve as the interim coach; his multi-year contract that was just renewed in April 2025 (timeline described by the user) is at risk of expiration due to the case.

Legal risks: Facing multiple felony charges such as money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy, which can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

3. Damon Jones: Involved in the case on two fronts, leaking James’ injury for profit

Former NBA player/coach Damon Jones is the only NBA-related person involved in two core investigations ("Operation Royal Flush" and "Operation Only Bet") at the same time, and involves Lakers star James:

"Operation Only Bet" Involved: 2023 2 In March (when he was not a Lakers employee), he obtained non-public information about James' ankle injury in advance. Before the Lakers' game against the Bucks on February 10, 2023 (James did not appear), he sent a text message to the co-conspirator to reveal that "a certain player (referring to James) will be absent" and suggested that the other party bet on the Bucks in an attempt to profit from the player's absence information, and James was unaware of this.

"Operation Royal Flush" Involved: Together with Billups, he participated in an illegal poker game manipulation plan related to the Mafia. The specific role is not clear, but he is one of the core personnel involved..

2. Case connection and impact on the league: 4 teams are involved, and the contract and credibility are in crisis

1. Case connection: The two major actions cover gambling and poker, forming an "illegal interest network"

The FBI's operation is divided into two core cases, and there is a clear connection:

Case name

Core investigation direction

Involved NBA Personnel

Related background

Operation Only Bet

Illegal sports betting (using inside information)

Rozier, Damon Jones

Involving 4 NBA teams Teams (Raptors, Hornets, Trail Blazers, Lakers)

Operation Royal Flush

Illegal poker game manipulation

Billups and Damon Jones

Associated with the three major American Mafia families, the investigation lasted for 4 years

The two major cases intersected through Damon Jones, and both involved "using NBA resources (personnel, information) to obtain illegal benefits," exposing the possible existence within the league "Illegal information circulation chain."

2. Three major impacts at the league level

Player/coach contract risks: Rozier’s current contract is in the last year (salary of US$26.6 million, total amount of US$96.2 million), and Billups has just renewed his multi-year contract; according to NBA rules, if the two are ultimately convicted, the league has the right to determine that they will lose their participation/ Coaching qualifications and contracts will be excluded from the team's salary cap and luxury tax calculations, which will have a direct impact on the Heat (salary space) and Trail Blazers (coaching staff reconstruction).

Credibility crisis: FBI Director Cash-Patel called the Rozier case "the NBA's version of insider trading," while Billups' accusation of "leaking a botched plan" directly impacted the "fairness of the game." If the coach proactively reveals that the team "lost on purpose," it will completely destroy fans' trust in the results of the game. In the future, the league may need to strengthen supervision of "internal information control" (such as player health, team strategy).

Signal for regulatory upgrade: The NBA’s previous investigation of Rozier found no violations, but the FBI investigation continued and eventually led to his arrest, indicating that there may be loopholes in the league’s internal supervision; after this incident, the league will most likely join forces with federal agencies to strengthen the investigation of players and coaches’ “gambling-related behaviors,” especially areas that have not previously been focused on, such as “personal data betting” and “team strategic information confidentiality.”

3. Legal Consequences and Follow-up Points

1. The core legal risks of the three people involved

The charges faced by the three are all federal felonies, especially money laundering and wire fraud conspiracy. According to the U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Wire Fraud Act, once convicted:

Rozier, Damon Jones: If convicted of the two counts, each can be sentenced to up to 20 years. Years in prison, and a heavy fine;

Billups: Due to his involvement in mafia connections, multiple cheating behaviors, and robbery connections (gang behavior), the sentencing may be more severe, with a maximum penalty of more than 20 years in prison.

2. Follow-up three key points

Evidence game: Rozier's lawyer said that the prosecutor "relied on low-credibility sources." Billups and Jones's defense team may defend the "authenticity of the information" (such as whether the "smash plan" is substantiated and whether the card shuffling machine cheating is directly related to the two). Whether the evidence chain is complete will determine the direction of the case;

Whether the league imposes additional penalties: Even if the three are not convicted, the NBA may also rely on internal investigations (such as "Whether there is illegal contact with gambling groups") separate penalties such as suspensions, fines, etc., especially "leaking internal information" itself violates the league's ethics code;

Deep digging into mafia connections: Whether the three major Mafia families involved in the Billups case are also involved with other NBA personnel, and whether the investigation will be further expanded to include more teams/ personnel will determine the ultimate scope of the scandal.

This incident is not only a rare case of "active players + coaches being arrested at the same time" in the history of the NBA, but also exposed the deep-seated contradiction between "illegal gambling and competitive fairness" in professional sports - how to balance "league supervision" and "legal accountability" in the future will become the key to whether the NBA can rebuild its credibility.