Home > Sports betting > Jontay Porter was a FanDuel VIP, but didn’t bet on basketball there

Jontay Porter was a FanDuel VIP, but didn’t bet on basketball there

| By Jill R. Dorson
Toronto Raptors centre Jontay Porter did not bet on basketball and he wasn't among the top bettors in Colorado during a two-year span when he bet millions, according to multiple media reports on Tuesday (16 April). Porter has been in the news of late after questions arose around not only his betting habits, but whether or not he bet on himself or basketball, which is expressly prohibited by the NBA.
NBA in-play betting

A source told Sports Handle that Porter placed more than 1,000 bets between 2021 and 2023, and was a FanDuel VIP customer. The source also said that FanDuel has between 10 and 20 professional athletes among its VIP ranks, and none have ever bet on their own sports.

Porter reportedly bet millions of dollars while he had his FanDuel VIP account. ESPN broke a story on 25 March about an NBA investigation into suspicious prop bets involving Porter and he did not play for the Raptors for the remainder of the season.

Last week, NBA commissioner Adam Silver called a player betting on himself or his sport a “cardinal sin” and said that, if Porter had done that, he would be banned from the league. The NBA’s gambling policy prohibits players from betting on the league or any of its properties, including the G-League or the WNBA.

Players are allowed to wager in jurisdictions where betting is legal. Single-event sports betting went live in Ontario, where the Raptors play, on 4 April 2022, and in Colorado, where Porter had his FanDuel VIP account, on 1 May 2020.

Colorado regulators last week mandated that all operators report any betting on NBA games by Porter.

Since PASPA fell, US leagues have suspended 11

The four major North American professional sports leagues have suspended 11 players since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2018 and Ontario legalised wagering in 2022. The NFL has suspended 10 and the NHL has suspended one.

The NBA opened its investigation into Porter after DraftKings reported that his under for three-point shots (0.5) on 26 January was the “biggest money winner for bettors of any NBA player props from games that evening”. Porter played four minutes in that game before leaving with an eye injury.

Two months later, DraftKings again revealed that props involving Porter were “top earners” on 20 March in a game Porter left after playing three minutes.

Porter’s brother, Michael Porter Jr, plays for the Denver Nuggets.

Before joining the Raptors, Jontay Porter played for three G-League teams after going undrafted out of Missouri in 2019.

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