NBA Commissioner Calls for Stronger Sports Betting Controls
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has called for greater regulation of the legal sports betting industry to protect game integrity and curb fan misconduct. Silver, an early and prominent supporter of legalization, stated on “The Pat McAfee Show” that more consistent rules are needed to limit opportunities for game manipulation and shield players from abuse by bettors.
Integrity Threat from Prop Bets
The league is specifically targeting prop bets, or proposition wagers, as a point of vulnerability. Following the lifetime ban of former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter in 2024 for manipulating his own performance, the NBA requested that its sportsbook partners limit certain wagers.
Silver confirmed the league asked partners to reduce prop bets, especially those involving players on two-way contracts. He explained that these players “don’t have the same stake in the competition,” making it “too easy to manipulate something which seems otherwise small.” The league is working with betting companies to add controls to prevent manipulation.
The Commissioner emphasized that prop bets pose a risk even in games without manipulation. They can lead to fan harassment of players. Bettors who lose a player-specific wager—for example, if a player scores 25 points but the bet was on 28 points—may direct abuse at the competitor, regardless of the team’s final outcome. To combat this, the NBA recently sent a memo to teams highlighting the need for vigilant enforcement of the Fan Code of Conduct in arenas.
Push for Federal Regulatory Framework
Despite being the first major pro league commissioner to publicly advocate for legalization in 2014, Silver now says “there should be more regulation.” At the time of his 2014 New York Times op-ed, sports betting was primarily legal only in Nevada. Eleven years later, 39 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have launched legal markets.
Silver reiterated his long-standing wish for federal legislation instead of the current state-by-state system. He believes a federal structure would provide uniform standards, especially for monitoring the amount of advertising and promotion tied to betting.
However, Silver noted that the existing legal framework offers crucial tools for integrity protection. He stated that the regulated system allows the league to monitor betting activity in ways that were previously “unimaginable.” This includes tracking unusual wagering patterns, identifying people betting large amounts who hadn’t done so before, and using geotargeting to know exactly where bets are placed, even identifying bettors within an arena. This visibility helps the league detect and investigate any “aberrational behavior.”
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