Former NBA Player Was Allegedly Granted a VIP Account by FanDuel Sportsbook

A former player in the National Basketball Association was allegedly granted a VIP account by FanDuel when he was still playing professional basketball, according to reporting by Toronto Life.
Jontay Porter of the Toronto Raptors was banned for life by the NBA in 2024 when it was learned the forward had been manipulating his playing time to impact his own player props. It was revealed that Porter and associates had allegedly placed bets on his over/under for points scored and possibly other odds.

(Photo by Christian Bonin/NBAE via Getty Images)

According to Anthony Milton in an article published by the Toronto Life website on May 26, Porter was given a VIP account status by FanDuel Sportsbook. That type of perk is reserved for customers who wager large sums of money.

FanDuel reported Porter's betting activity to the NBA in March of 2024, alerting the league to a potential violation. On March 24, Porter removed himself from a game against complaining of indigestion. Associates had allegedly placed wagers on the under for his game performance. Reportedly, Porter removed himself from more than one game in 2024 due to feigned injury. Milton reports that his decision to do so came as a method to settle his own gambling debts.

But even before he began rigging his own game performance in the NBA, Porter had been a big sports bettor himself, earning VIP treatment from FanDuel, allegedly.

According to the Toronto Life article, Porter had previously wagered as much as $54,094 on sports in early 2024, netting a profit of $21,965. Such betting can lead sportsbooks to grant VIP status in an effort to cultivate more betting. Eventually, the sportsbook knows, the customer will lose, and the house will win.

NBA has Strategic Betting Partnerships with Sportsbooks

The NBA has official partnerships with FanDuel and other sports betting operators. When the Porter story became public last year it was touted as evidence that online sportsbooks will be responsible partners with professional sports leagues to police the world of wagering and protect the integrity of the sport. But if FanDuel helped Porter continue his betting and assisted in his eventual debt to a third-party placing wagers, how will that impact the way the NBA looks at strategic relationships and sports gambling?

National and local television broadcasts of NBA games now include the NBA odds for the moneyline, over/under. and player props. It's become nearly as common as a pregame analysis of matchups on the court. For those fans who enjoy betting on the games, the odds are welcome additions to the experience of pro sports.

As a marginal NBA player, Porter was the ideal candidate to become embroiled in a gambling scandal. For the March 24, 2024 contest where he begged out of the game and kept his stats under the O/U odds, Porter allegedly won $271,590 via the scheme concocted by his associates, most of whom have pled guilty to federal charges. That figure was more than half of what Porter earned as a basketball player in the 2023-24 season when he bounced between the G League and NBA.

As Milton points out in his story, the more wagers placed on sports, the easier it can be for cheaters to go unnoticed. It's a Jontay Porter, barely clinging to an NBA roster spot and NBA paycheck, that could be enticed to manipulate his own stats or maybe throw a game. Or become indebted due to losses and resort to fraudulent behavior. Reportedly, the FBI is investigating a game in 2023 where former Miami Heat player Terry Rozier may have been involved in a gambling scheme.

The NBA Finals dominate the headlines, ensuring that the play on the court is the prominent story for basketball right now. But if more details come to light that players, sportsbooks, and illicit gamblers are infiltrating the NBA, will fans question whether the games are legitimate?