Raptors center Jontay Porter, who is at the center of an NBA gambling investigation, owned and operated a VIP FanDuel account in Colorado. The account wagered millions of dollars between 2021 and 2023, the Action Network reported Tuesday.
At the time of his bets, Porter was towards the end of his stint with the Memphis Grizzlies before floating around the G League for the coming seasons. His older brother, Michael Porter Jr.,is a forward for the Denver Nuggets. In states where sports gambling is legal, NBA rules prohibit players from betting on the league or its other properties such as the WNBA or G League. Players are allowed to bet on other sports, and fantasy basketball can be played as long as there is no cash prize.
FanDuel did not accept any bets from Porter on the NBA or college basketball, the Action Network reported. Porter is under league investigation due to suspicious betting activity on games that he left early due to purported injuries and illness.
Porter has been on leave from the Raptors since the investigation started. NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters last week the accusations against Porter were “a cardinal sin” and didn’t rule out banning him from the game.
“There is nothing more serious, I think, around this league when it comes to gambling and betting on our games and that is a direct player involvement. So the investigation is ongoing, but the consequences could be very severe,” Silver said.
Porter’s FanDuel account came to light after Colorado gaming regulators requested sportsbooks in the state to report any accounts he may have been linked to. According to the Action Network, Porter’s VIP status on FanDuel gave him access to sports tickets and betting promos.
The account allegedly placed over a thousand bets in the three-year period.
Before the investigation, Porter was a feel-good story in the NBA this season. He followed Michael—his older brother by a year—to Missouri, had a standout freshman season and elected to stay for his sophomore year to improve his draft stock despite being projected by some as a first-round pick. He tore his ACL just before the start of his sophomore year, re-tore it that spring and went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft. He floated around the G League for a few seasons before being picked up by the Raptors on a two-way contract in December, which paid a salary of around $400,000 annually. Porter previously made $2.4 million over three years from his first deal with the Grizzlies despite playing in just 11 games.
