NBA launches technology-backed crackdown on insider leaks and betting amid FBI probe
League outlines six-area reform plan, expands injury-reporting windows and prop-bet controls, and boosts education to curb leaks and suspicious wagering.
The NBA on Friday unveiled a technology- and security-focused reform package aimed at curbing insider information leaks and potential performance manipulation amid a federal gambling investigation.
The memo, circulated after consultations with teams and the Board of Governors and obtained by ESPN, lays out six areas for reform and describes how the league intends to use data-driven monitoring and process changes to deter leaks and suspicious betting. The document identifies six focal points: tanking, injury reporting, player prop bets, gambling education, shielding personnel from bettor harassment, and sharpening the league's tools for spotting suspicious betting patterns. It also details steps to tighten injury reporting windows and to modify rules around draft protections in an effort to blunt incentives to manipulate outcomes. The memo notes that the reforms are designed to work in concert with the federal investigation that has already drawn in players, coaches and former stars.
Among the six areas, officials emphasize that tanking presents a major risk to the integrity of the game. The NBA says it is reviewing draft pick protections and the draft lottery to reduce incentives for teams to rest players or to lose games to secure better picks, a policy change that would be pursued in coordination with teams and league governance bodies.
On injury reporting, the memo specifies new timing: teams must file injury updates between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time on game days, and public injury data on NBA.com will be refreshed every 15 minutes—a marked increase from the prior hourly cadence. The goal is to improve transparency for fans, bettors and league officials and to raise the bar for when and how information is released.
In terms of wagering, the NBA proposes restricting the kinds of prop bets sportsbooks can offer on individual player performance. The proposals include limits on how much can be staked on certain stats and a crackdown on under bets. The memo states that core to the league's position is that leagues should have control over the types of bets offered on their games, and that any changes will need to be pursued via negotiation with operators, regulators and, if needed, lawmakers.
The education and enforcement pillar calls for an overhaul of the NBA's gambling-education program, expanded resources to deter insider leaks and new protocols to shield personnel from bettor harassment. Officials also want stronger, more automated tools to detect suspicious betting patterns and to flag potential leaks before they can affect markets.
Context and timeline matter: the crackdown follows a federal gambling indictment announced in October by FBI Director Kash Patel. Prosecutors say a Mafia-led scheme targeted the NBA and related markets, and they allege that a co-conspirator provided non-public injury information to bettors. The indictment drew in a current player, a head coach and a former star. Rozier, who played for the Miami Heat, is among those charged, and he pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges in Brooklyn federal court. He was released on a $3 million personal recognizance bond and remains on leave from the Heat pending the next hearing, set for March 3.