A massive betting scandal has hit American basketball, with players and a coach now facing charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States attorney for Brooklyn announced two indictments in what they say is a massive cheating conspiracy involving current and former basketball players, coaches and members of New York’s organised crime families. On Thursday, the FBI also carried out arrests, including of NBA players allegedly involved in the scam.

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The news came during the NBA season’s opening week, just as the league launched new broadcast deals worth $76bn over 11 years. It’s the latest in a series of scandals to hit US sport since sports betting took off in 2018.

Here is what we know.

What is the gambling scandal in the NBA?

A sweeping federal investigation has shaken the world of professional basketball, uncovering ties between NBA figures and organised crime in an illegal betting network worth millions of dollars.

“The investigative work that culminated with this morning’s operation are reminiscent of a Hollywood movie. But this was not luck, and it was not theatrics,” said Ricky Patel, the special agent in charge of homeland security investigations, who has led the ongoing probe.

In total, 34 individuals were arrested across 11 states. Among those arrested were Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cleveland Cavaliers player Damon Jones.

Authorities said they unsealed the indictments and carried out coordinated arrests nationwide on Thursday.

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First indictment: Sports betting scheme (US v Eric Earnest Indictment) 

In the first case, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and several others are accused of using insider information, knowing when players would sit out or leave early with “injuries”, to place targeted bets on those athletes underperforming in points, assists or rebounds.

“They also misused information obtained through longstanding friendships that they had with NBA players and coaches,” Joseph Nocella, the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said.

The indictment highlights seven games in 2023 and 2024 on which hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of illegal bets were allegedly placed.

Rozier’s lawyer denies all charges and said that his client will fight the legal accusations.

Second indictment: Poker cheating operation (United States v Aiello) 

The second case centres on a sophisticated poker-cheating ring allegedly orchestrated by organised crime groups in New York.

According to prosecutors, victims were drawn into high-stakes poker games after being told they would compete against well-known former athletes, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups.

But the games were rigged. Crime groups allegedly used fake shuffling machines and an X-ray poker table that showed players’ hidden cards, letting them cheat victims out of huge sums.

Officials say victims lost at least $7m overall. Those charged include game organisers, suppliers of the cheating equipment, and participants, among them Billups, who allegedly took part in several such games in 2019.

Prosecutors say the scheme was backed by members of the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese crime families, which controlled portions of New York’s underground poker circuit. These groups allegedly collected a share of the profits, enforced payments through extortion and robbery, and laundered proceeds via cryptocurrency and other channels.

Along with the Colombo family, the Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese groups represent the “Five Families”, which have dominated New York’s Italian-American mafia since 1931. They form part of a broader American-Sicilian network known as La Cosa Nostra (Our Thing), whose members maintain ties to their counterparts in Sicily.

Thirteen members and associates of the crime families were also indicted.

Who are the former and current NBA players named in the indictment?

These are the defendants named in the indictments that include former and current NBA players:

Chauncey Billups: Portland Trail Blazers head coach. Billups is alleged to have functioned as a “face card” (a celebrity figure used to attract players) for poker games that were rigged. Billups was also a star player in his time, a part of the NBA for 17 years, most of those years with the Detroit Pistons.

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Damon Jones: Former NBA player and assistant coach for Los Angeles in 2022-23. Jones is accused of supplying inside information to allow a network of conspirators to place winning bets on games. And like Billups, he is also accused of helping to lure wealthy people to participate in poker games.

Terry Rozier: An NBA player who, as a member of the Charlotte Hornets, is accused of providing insider information about his playing status to people involved in illegal sports betting. Federal investigators allege that before a 2023 Charlotte Hornets game, Rozier told associates he’d leave early due to an injury, leading to heavy bets on his “unders”.

What was the alleged betting scheme about?

Between December 2022 and March 2024, the defendants allegedly ran a plan to profit from insider NBA information by placing bets that were almost guaranteed to win, then hiding the money trail afterwards.

Some of the methodologies include:

Using insider information

• The group allegedly obtained non-public details about player injuries, game plans and lineup changes from NBA players and coaches.
• Jones allegedly used his NBA connections to access and sell or “attempt to sell” private medical information.
• Other insiders revealed when teams were “tanking” (intentionally losing) or resting key players.
• Jontay Porter, an American basketball player who last played for the Toronto Raptors, allegedly agreed to exit games early so others could profit from bets on his poor performance.
• In some cases, this information was sold for cash or a share of winnings, with payments routed through intermediaries to hide the source.

 Placing and concealing the bets

• The defendants and their associates allegedly used licensed sportsbooks and illegal bookies to place bets, often through “straw bettors”, people betting on their behalf to avoid detection.
• They focused on prop bets, especially betting the “under” on a player’s stats when they knew the player would perform poorly or leave early.
• Bets were made before injury news or lineup changes became public, ensuring better odds.
• They lied by omission to betting companies, failing to disclose that wagers were based on insider information.

Hiding the profits

• To disguise their winnings, the group allegedly moved money through cash exchanges, bank wires, and peer-to-peer payment apps.
• In one case, Marves Fairley collected tens of thousands in cash from co-conspirators after winning bets and passed it along to others in the network.

How were the poker games allegedly rigged?

According to the indictment, the defendants and their partners used high-tech cheating devices and secret communication systems to control the outcome of underground poker games.

Some of the methods include:

The hidden reader

• They allegedly used “rigged shuffling” machines that looked normal but could scan and read every card in the deck. This let the conspirators know in advance which player held the winning hand.
• The card information was then sent wirelessly to an off-site “operator,” who relayed it back by phone to an insider at the table – called the “quarterback” or “driver”. That player used secret signals to share the crucial information with the rest of the team members playing in the game.
• Members and associates of the accused crime families “used threats and intimidation to assure payments of debts”.

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Other tools used:

The defendants also occasionally used other technologies, including:

• Electronic poker chip trays that could secretly read cards placed on the table.
• Card analysers hidden inside modified phones.
• Marked playing cards that were only visible to team members wearing specially designed contact lenses or sunglasses.

According to experts, this is unexpected.

“The idea that poker would be at least part of today’s news was unexpected,” Mike McCann, professor of law at Harvard University, told Al Jazeera.

“And also the alleged role of the mafia, that there are mafia ties to this, that kind of came out of nowhere,” he added.

What has been the NBA response?

In a statement issued on Thursday, the NBA said it is currently reviewing the newly announced federal indictments and is cooperating fully with authorities.

The league also confirmed that Rozier and Billups have been placed on immediate leave from their respective teams.