FBI calls NBA gambling probe ‘insider trading saga for the league’

The FBI made it official Thursday. The league’s latest gambling scandal isn’t just serious — it’s sprawling.

At a press conference in New York, FBI director Kash Patel announced more than 30 arrests tied to what he called “a wide-sweeping criminal enterprise that envelopes both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra.”

The investigation spans two fronts: an insider betting scheme known as Operation Nothing But Bet and a nationwide web of rigged poker games dubbed Operation Royal Flush.

According to Patel, the poker ring was backed by several New York crime families, including the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese organizations. The games were allegedly fixed using high-tech shuffling machines, altered equipment, and hidden signals — all designed to cheat players out of millions.

“The fraud is mind-boggling,” Patel said. “We’re talking tens of millions in theft and robbery.”

The poker side led to 31 arrests. The insider-betting scheme produced six more, including those involving Heat guard Terry Rozier, Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former player Damon Jones.

As Hoops Wire relayed earlier, the NBA’s focus centers on allegations that inside information was shared before certain games, influencing “under” prop bets when players were expected to leave early.

“This is the insider trading saga for the NBA,” Patel said.

Billups’ alleged role came through the poker operation, where prosecutors claim he was used as a celebrity “face card” to lure unsuspecting victims into games rigged with technology capable of reading cards.

Asked what message this sends to other leagues, Patel was blunt.

“If you’re participating in legal gambling, you have nothing to worry about,” he said. “If you’re participating in illegal conduct, you have everything to worry about. And this case shows it.”

FBI assistant director Christopher Reya said the indictments were likely “just the tip of the iceberg.”