The Risky Game: How Jontay Porter’s Betting Scandal Could Shake Up the NBA and Sports Betting World

In March 20, Long Phi “Bruce” Pham, Timothy McCormack, and Mahmud Mollah placed an $80,000 bet on Jontay Porter not achieving certain stats during a game against the Sacramento Kings. Porter left the game early, resulting in a payout of $1.12 million for the defendants. It is alleged that they influenced Porter to exit games prematurely to settle gambling debts.

While it may be difficult for one player to impact the outcome of bets on his team, player prop bets offer an opportunity to manipulate the system. Faking an illness or injury and failing to meet certain statistics can result in a payout for individuals betting the under. This scandal involving Porter and the defendants is not something that has been seen in the NFL thus far. However, if such a scandal were to occur in the NFL, it has the potential to cause significant upheaval within the league. The NBA’s decision to ban Jontay Porter for life has resulted in criminal charges for three individuals who were allegedly pressuring him to leave games early.