Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter has been banned from the NBA, the league announced Wednesday.
The NBA said that Porter provided confidential information to bettors, limited his own participation in games for gambling purposes and bet on NBA games.
“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
“While legal sports betting creates transparency that helps identify suspicious or abnormal activity, this matter also raises important issues about the sufficiency of the regulatory framework currently in place, including the types of bets offered on our games and players. Working closely with all relevant stakeholders across the industry, we will continue to work diligently to safeguard our league and game,” Silver said.
Porter, the league said, gave a bettor information about his own health status before Toronto’s game on March 20. The league said another individual, known to be an NBA bettor, placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sportsbook. That bet would have won $1.1 million.
Porter took himself out of that game after only a few minutes, claiming illness, with none of his stats meeting the totals set in the parlay. The bet was frozen and not paid out, and the NBA started an investigation.
Porter is a brother of Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.