NBA deputy commissioner advocates for stronger US gambling regulations
Mark Tatum notes legalized sports betting allowed league to track and punish Toronto Raptors’ Jontay Porter with a lifetime ban
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum has praised the US’ strong regulatory framework for gambling after it allowed the league to track betting irregularities.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) recently suspended Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter indefinitely after an investigation found he had violated the league’s gambling rules.
Porter had given individual health updates that were then used to place bets on the power forward’s in-game performances.
Following that ban and a host of others across Major League Baseball (MLB), gambling in US sports in under increased scrutiny.
This led to NBA commissioner Adam Silver calling for further regulation last month on the grounds there wasn’t much the sport could do when it came to players placing wagers.
However, a day after a man was charged in relation to Porter’s gambling suspension, Silver’s deputy, Tatum, said the framework around regulated gambling was working as it allowed the NBA to track and ban the Raptors star.
Tatum remarked: “The fact that we were able to look at certain irregularities in betting lines, and the data that we were able to receive from our partners allowed this to come into the light.
“We’ve always been, again, an advocate for a federal regulatory framework here.
“I think it creates transparency that we didn’t have previously, which allows us to maintain the integrity of the sport, which is essential to all sports leagues.”
The Porter suspension was the latest in a series of bans for US sports stars, with the MLB handing out five player bans this week including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres’ Tucupita Marcano.
Sports betting was recently legalized in North Carolina and with more states potentially regulating their markets, Tatum noted there were only two options available when the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in 2018.
He added: “When the Supreme Court overturned PASPA in the US that really left sort of two options, right?
“Continue the illegal sports betting or it was to embrace a legalized sports betting system so that, quite frankly, we could identify the sort of behavior that this uncovered.”
Reports from ESPN this week have claimed Long Phi “Bruce” Pham faces charges in relation to the Porter case, with it alleged he knew the Raptors player planned to withdraw from a game.