What we know about NBA gambling operations and rigged poker game arrests

US authorities announced the arrest of a number of high-profile figures on Thursday, including a star player and NBA coach, on charges of illegal sports betting.

Those arrested include Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, both of whom were arrested after their teams’ games on Wednesday.

The FBI said the arrests are part of a sweeping investigation into illegal gambling that has resulted in two indictments, one for players who allegedly faked injuries to influence betting odds, and another for an illegal poker ring linked to organized crime.

Here’s what we know about these cases.

FBI Director Kash Patel described the allegations to reporters as “mind-boggling.”

These charges include indictments in two major cases, both involving fraud, officials said.

The first case is called “Operation Nothing But Bet,” in which players and partners allegedly used inside information to manipulate bets on major sports betting platforms.

In some cases, players changed their performance or took themselves out of games to ensure those bets paid out, according to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. The profits from those bets amounted to tens of thousands of dollars.

The second case is more complex in nature, officials said, and involves four of New York’s five major crime families as well as professional athletes.

The defendants in this case allegedly participated in a scheme to rig illegal poker games and steal millions of dollars.

They did so using “highly sophisticated” technology, including ready-made card shuffling machines, special contact lenses, and glasses to read pre-marked cards, according to authorities. They also used an x-ray table that could read hole cards.

Victims were allegedly lured to play in these games with former professional athletes, who played the role of “face cards” in the scheme. The victims were unaware that everyone, including the dealer and other players, was involved in the scam.

Authorities said they began investigating these poker games in 2019, which spanned multiple locations including the Hamptons, Las Vegas, Miami and Manhattan.

The accused allegedly laundered the profits via bank transfers and cryptocurrencies.

They are also alleged to have committed acts of violence, including robbery at gunpoint and blackmailing of victims.

Both schemes amounted to tens of millions of dollars in theft and burglary over several years and 11 states, authorities said.

Overall, authorities say 34 defendants have been charged in connection with the two fraud cases.

Six players who allegedly faked injuries to influence betting odds were charged in the first case, including Miami Heat player Rosier.

In March 2023, Rozier, then playing for the Charlotte Hornets, allegedly told others close to him that he planned to leave a game early due to a supposed injury, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

Group members then used this information to place fraudulent bets and make big money, she said.

“His career is effectively on hold, not for injury but for integrity,” Commissioner Tisch said Thursday after Rozier’s arrest.

Former NBA player Damon Jones was also arrested. He is said to have participated in two games that were allegedly part of the scheme, when the Los Angeles Lakers took on the Milwaukee Bucks in February 2023, and a game in January 2024 between the Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Authorities have identified a total of seven NBA games between February 2023 and March 2024 that were part of the case:

• February 9, 2023 – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks

• March 23, 2023 – Charlotte Hornets vs. New Orleans Pelicans

• March 24, 2023 – Portland Trail Blazers vs. Chicago Bulls

• April 6, 2023 – Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

• January 15, 2024 – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

• January 26, 2024 – Toronto Raptors vs. Los Angeles Clippers

• March 20, 2024 – Toronto Raptors vs. Sacramento Kings

The second case, related to illegal poker games, involved 31 defendants, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Billups, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year.

Three of the defendants are charged in both cases, authorities said.

Thirteen members and associates of New York’s Bonanno, Genovese and Gambino crime families were also indicted in the illegal poker case.

Charges include theft, extortion, bank fraud, bank fraud and illegal gambling.

Authorities said the accused were arrested and are scheduled to appear in court later on Thursday. They are expected to be arraigned in a Brooklyn, New York, court at a later date.

The association said in a statement on Thursday that it is reviewing the federal indictments that were announced and is cooperating with authorities.

The league added that Rozier and Billups have been placed “on immediate leave” from their teams.

The statement said: “We take these accusations very seriously, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”

Authorities said the alleged scheme involved four of New York’s five known crime families.

The Five Families – Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese – have ruled the Italian American mafia in the city since 1931.

Major mob takedowns reduced the prevalence of Mafia activity in the 1990s, with the help of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

But as Thursday’s indictments showed, the mafia has not completely disappeared.

The five families are part of a larger Sicilian-American mafia operation known as La Cosa Nostra, which translates to “This Thing of Ours,” and members often work closely with their counterparts in Sicily.

On the Italian side, gangsters view New York City as a “gym” where its members go to enhance their powers, Anna Sergi, a criminology professor and expert on modern organized crime, previously told the BBC.