The NBA directed its authorized sportsbooks, including DraftKings and FanDuel, to stop offering several types of prop bets and to restrict certain parlays, the league announced Friday. The restrictions target wagers the league has flagged as vulnerable to manipulation.
What The NBA Banned
Under the new guidance, sportsbooks must prohibit bets on the winner of the opening tip, wagers on whether a player will miss a specific shot, and under bets on players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes in a given game, according to ESPN. Sportsbooks also cannot offer parlays the league describes as “low likelihood, high payout bets” or alternate under lines with larger payouts.https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/50196498/nba-tells-sportsbooks-stop-certain-bets-restrict-parlays” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>ESPN. Books also must stop offering under bets on players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes in a given game.
The league is also barring sportsbooks from offering parlays it describes as low likelihood, high payout bets, along with alternate under lines that carry larger payouts. The NBA‘s authorized operators account for upward of 99% of the U.S. betting market, meaning the restrictions apply across nearly the entire legal landscapes authorized operators make up more than 99% of the U.S. sports betting market, according to ESPN, meaning the restrictions apply across nearly the entire legal market.
NBA executive vice president Scott Kaufman-Ross explained the league’s approach to balancing integrity concerns against pushing bettors toward unregulated platforms. “There’s a balance between ensuring that we are removing problematic bet types but also ensuring that we don’t just move activity into the illegal market,” Kaufman-Ross said. “And where we landed right now, we think, is the right balance of those two objectives.”
The Porter And Rozier Cases
The restrictions follow the Jontay Porter betting scandal. Porter, on a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors during the 2023-24 season, admitted in court to intentionally leaving games early to benefit bettors. In a March 2024 game against the Sacramento Kings, Porter played three minutes before exiting.
A bettor involved in the scheme placed an $80,000 parlay on the under on Porter’s assists, rebounds, points, 3-pointers, steals and blocks that game, a wager that would have paid approximately $1.1 million.
Federal prosecutors allege a similar pattern with Terry Rozier. The Charlotte Hornets guard, in a March 2023 game against the New Orleans Pelicans, left after playing approximately nine minutes on parlays tied to the under on his statistics.
Rozier has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing.
NBA executive vice president Scott Kaufman-Ross told ESPN that the Porter and Rozier cases were factors in the decision. “Seeing where we may have had issues in the past is one of the inputs to determining the types of things that we think could be problematic,” he said.s assists, rebounds, points, 3-pointers, steals and blocks in that game, a wager that would have paid out approximately $1.1 million.
Federal prosecutors have alleged a similar pattern involving parlays tied to the under on Terry Rozier’s statistics during a March 2023 game between the Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier, who played for the Hornets at the time, left that game after roughly nine minutes. Rozier has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing.
Kaufman-Ross said those cases informed the league’s thinking on which bet types needed to go. “Seeing where we may have had issues in the past is one of the inputs to determining the types of things that we think could be problematic,” he said.
What’s Next
The NBA’s 2026-27 regular season begins Oct. 20 with a triple-header: Celtics vs. Pistons (3 p.m. ET), 76ers vs.
Knicks (7 p.m.) and Thunder vs. Spurs (9:30 p.m.) on NBC and Peacock. The new restrictions take effect immediately, applying to all betting across the authorized sportsbook market as games ramp up.s Next
The league has not specified an exact date for when the new restrictions take effect, and it has not detailed how it plans to enforce compliance among its authorized operators.
DraftKings, FanDuel and other sportsbooks had not issued public statements on the changes as of Friday’s announcement. The NBA’s 2026-27 regular season is underway, giving the restrictions an immediate real-world test as betting volume ramps up around league games.
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