OT: Mizzou's "Jontay Porter Rule" update – court says NBA betting scheme laid out in texts

SIAP, but I searched and didn't find anything.

I've included some background in case you don't know who Jontay or Michael Porter are, but the takeaway is that this dude was texting bettors during NBA games with updates so they could bet on parlays.

quote:

---

Jontay Porter played college basketball for Missouri alongside his older brother, Michael Porter Jr., where he was awarded the SEC Sixth Man of the Year as a freshman. He missed the entirety of his sophomore season after an MCL/ACL tear and went unselected in the 2019 NBA draft.

Eventually earning a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors in 2023-2024, he was banned for life by the NBA for violating their gambling policies and the resulting scandal now has him facing criminal charges.


Michael Porter Jr. and Jontay Porter

On March 25, 2024, ESPN reported that the NBA had opened an investigation of Porter for "multiple instances of betting irregularities over the past several months." On April 11, the Colorado Division of Gaming issued an instruction to state sportsbook operators to immediately report any potential wagering on "NBA affiliated games" by accounts connected to Porter. The NBA said Porter "disclosed confidential information about his own health status" to an individual known to be a sports bettor. Another bettor wagered $80,000 on a parlay bet that Porter would not meet certain player statistics (an under bet) which would have won $1.1 million. Porter's behavior drew notice once he removed himself from the game due to illness.

This would lead the NBA to implement what is called the "Jontay Porter Rule" following his ban, forbidding sportsbooks to include under betting on player props who are on either two-way contracts or 10-day contracts.

In its investigation, the NBA also found that between January and March 2024, Porter had placed 13 bets on NBA games using another person's account. Some of the wagers included parlay bets involving the Raptors losing.

On Monday, a sixth person has been charged in the federal case, and authorities disclosed a text message Porter allegedly sent explaining how to cash in on his plans to bench himself during a January 2024 game:

“Hit unders for the big numbers,” Porter wrote to an alleged conspirator on January 26, 2024. "No blocks no steals. I’m going to play first 2-3 minute stint off the bench then when I get subbed out tell them my eye killing me again.”

He had scratched an eye during a previous game, keeping conspirators in the loop by text even from the arena, according to the complaint. But he wasn’t on the injured list when the Raptors faced the LA Clippers four days later. Porter ultimately played a little over four minutes in that game before saying he had aggravated the eye problem. He then pulled out of a later game against the Sacramento Kings after less than three minutes, saying he felt ill. His performance in both games fell well below what sportsbooks had anticipated.

Porter told a court in July that he got involved in the plot to try to clear his own gambling debts. He’s set to be sentenced in May, and is facing up to 20 years.

---

Court papers say ex-NBA player Jontay Porter laid out betting scheme in a text; 6th person arrested (AP News)