NBA stars and mafia among dozens arrested in illegal gambling crackdown

October 24, 2025

NBA player Terry Rozier and coach Chauncey Billups are among dozens arrested in a sweeping FBI investigation involving two separate schemes: illegal sports betting with rigged injuries and mafia-linked poker games. Rozier is one of six people accused of manipulating betting markets by faking injuries, while Billups is among 31 individuals charged in an elaborate scheme involving rigged poker games that used sophisticated technology like marked cards and special contact lenses to defraud victims. Both men deny the allegations and have been placed on immediate leave by the NBA while the federal indictments are reviewed.

Who is affected

NBA players Terry Rozier and former player Damon Jones
Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups
The Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers organizations
Victims who were "fleeced" out of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars per poker game
One specific victim who lost $1.8 million in the poker scheme
Members of the Bonanno, Genovese and Gambino crime families
The NBA as an organization concerned with game integrity
Sports betting markets and their participants

What action is being taken

The FBI is conducting a multi-state investigation into both sports betting fraud and illegal poker games
The NBA is placing Rozier and Billups on immediate leave while reviewing the federal indictments
Federal prosecutors are pursuing charges of robbery, extortion, wire fraud, bank fraud, and illegal gambling against the defendants
Rozier has been released on bail after putting up his $6 million Florida home as collateral
Billups is expected to prepare a substantial bond for his release
The FBI is working to ensure mafia families "cannot continue to wreak havoc in our communities"

Why it matters

This represents "one of the most brazen sports corruption schemes since online sports betting became widely legalized"
The integrity of NBA games and player performance is called into question
The investigation exposes links between professional sports figures and organized crime
The schemes involved sophisticated technology and coordination to defraud victims of millions of dollars
The conspiracy cheated victims out of a total of $7 million
The case demonstrates how the legalization of sports betting since 2018 has created new opportunities for corruption
It involves four of the five major crime families in New York, showing continued mafia involvement in gambling operations

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC