MW Sportsbooks were called 'victims' in new NBA gambling probe. Here's what DraftKings, FanDuel have to say.

By Weston Blasi

The sportsbooks say they play a key role in helping regulators identify suspicious betting activity

Regulated online sports betting can help "monitor for and detect suspicious behavior" such as that alleged in the NBA gambling probe that led to dozens of arrests this week, sportsbooks say.

The sports world was shaken on Thursday after a wave of gambling-related indictments hit the NBA. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier were among nearly three dozen people arrested for what federal law-enforcement officials called "the most brazen sports-corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized."

As part of the press conference announcing the multiyear investigation, the indictments were detailed, and officials referred to sportsbooks as among those that had been defrauded.

"The sportsbooks themselves are victims in this case. They themselves did not perpetrate anything unlawful," said Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. He clarified that there are other victims in addition to the sportsbooks and did not name any sportsbooks that were involved in this case.

Despite accepting the bets, the sportsbooks were "victims," officials said, because the alleged wagers were unlawful. That's because bets were made using nonpublic information, such as a player's injury status, before it was made public - similar to insider trading.

'The sportsbooks themselves are victims in this case. They themselves did not perpetrate anything unlawful.'Joseph Nocella Jr., the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York

The NBA has two official gambling partners - DraftKings $(DKNG)$ and the Flutter-owned $(FLUT)$ FanDuel - and several other approved gambling operators.

A FanDuel spokesperson said the indictments "are deeply disturbing, and should concern fans, athletes, and everyone who loves sports and values integrity and fair play."

The representative added that the charges "also illustrate the stark contrast between legal and illegal betting markets. At FanDuel, we use advanced technology and real-time monitoring to identify suspicious activity and work closely with leagues, data monitoring groups, and law enforcement. We are unwavering in our commitment to rooting out abuses by those who seek to undermine fair competition and the games we love."

It's true that in many instances where players or unauthorized personnel were alleged to have gambled on sports, the sportsbook themselves played an important role in identifying such activity.

For example, DraftKings was able to alert the NBA about suspicious activity surrounding prop bets related to ex-Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in 2024. It was later discovered that Porter had disclosed confidential information to bettors and limited his participation in at least one game so that a certain bet would pay out. He was later banned for life from the NBA.

"We fundamentally believe that regulated online sports betting is the best way forward to monitor for and detect suspicious behavior while offering consumer protections backed by advanced technology, neither of which exist in the pervasive illegal market," DraftKings told MarketWatch in a statement.

See: Want to stream every NBA game this season? It's going to cost you nearly $1,000.

The sportsbook said that these problems of integrity would still be occurring if the Supreme Court had not lifted the ban on sports betting in 2018, and that offenses are more easily discoverable if all parties are communicating with each other.

"While regulation cannot eliminate all concerns related to game integrity, it significantly reduces risks by enabling collaboration between operators, leagues, teams, and relevant authorities to identify and hold accountable anyone engaged in illegal behavior," the DraftKings statement continued. "We know our fans value the authenticity of competition, and we take the responsibility of reporting suspicious activity seriously. As a proud partner of the NBA, DraftKings remains committed to working closely with the league to ensure the continued integrity of the game."

Billups and Rozier have been placed on immediate and indefinite leave of absence, according to the NBA. "We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments," the basketball league said in a statement.

Addressing the situation on Friday, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who is vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, said "there's been little to no conversation" from the league on how to protect players from gambling.

See: LeBron James on why he won't take risks with his money: 'I can't start over. There's no way.'

This scandal comes at an awkward time for the NBA - the week its 2025-26 season tipped off - and threatens to overshadow huge opening-week performances from its biggest stars, including Steph Curry, Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

-Weston Blasi

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October 24, 2025 16:08 ET (20:08 GMT)

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