The Mafia Behind the NBA Gambling and Match-Fixing Scandal

Just as NBA fans were treated to the excitement of the opening game of the 2025-2026 season, a surprise emerged with the revelation of a gambling and match-fixing case involving coaches and players in the world's premier basketball league. The case also involves organized crime syndicates.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested more than 30 individuals in operations related to the case. Among those arrested are the head coach of the NBA club, Portland Trail Blazers, Chauncey Billups, and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier.

Billups, 49, is a former Hall of Fame player. Rozier, 30, plays guard for the Heat. Both were arrested in connection with two separate but interconnected gambling investigations involving the league and the mafia.

The case, which focused on sports betting and match-fixing in national poker games, has been ongoing for years and is worth tens of millions of dollars. FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday (October 23, 2025) that the case also involved elements of wire fraud, money laundering, and extortion, as well as gambling.

According to the FBI, Rozier is one of several individuals from the NBA who is suspected of being an "insider" and providing information about upcoming games to his criminal associates. They then used fake bettors to place several bets based on that information.

For example, in March 2023, Rozier informed his colleagues that he would exit the game early due to injury. This allowed them to bet over 200,000 US dollars that he would not reach the expected statistical totals for that game. "This is a story of insider gaming in the NBA," said Patel.

Billups was charged in a separate case for allegedly assisting in manipulating poker games, deceiving unknown players with the promise of playing against celebrities. The perpetrators used advanced technology to rig games in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and other locations, including the use of counterfeit card shufflers and X-ray tables.

The NBA has stated that Rozier and Billups have been suspended temporarily and the league will continue to cooperate with the authorities. "We take these allegations very seriously, and the integrity of the game is our top priority," the statement read.

Rozier's attorney, James Trusty, stated that the prosecutors "seem to only trust information from extraordinarily great sources rather than relying on concrete evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was released by the NBA, and the prosecutors revived a baseless case."

The Trail Blazers stated that the team "is fully cooperating in the investigation" and assistant coach Tiago Splitter will take over as interim head coach.

Unsurprisingly, the case that rocked US professional sports involved an organized crime family, the mafia.

Billups' attorney, Chris Heywood, stated that anyone who knows his client understands that he is a person of integrity, not deceitful or fraudulent. "Chauncey Billups has never backed down. He will not do that. He will vigorously contest these allegations, which have marked his 28-year career. We look forward to our day in court," said Heywood.

Several decades after law enforcement's crackdown dismantled the New York mafia organizations, the latest case in the NBA highlights the cunning and adaptability of the mafia to changes in time and technology. Four out of five organized crime families in New York are suspected of being involved in a case that, according to an investigator, "reminds us of a Hollywood movie."

The mafia is accused of pocketing around 7 million US dollars obtained from victims lured to poker tables in Las Vegas, Miami, Manhattan, and Long Island, which have become playgrounds for the wealthy and famous.

Former federal prosecutor Mitchell Epner stated that the charges remind us that "La Cosa Nostra" is still very real and, like any organization that has ever been attacked, they adapt. They have indeed significantly diminished since the era when John Gotti Sr. led the Gambino family, which was once one of the most powerful and feared criminal organizations in the United States.

At that time, Gotti smiled and waved to the visitors in the courtroom, earning the nickname "The Teflon Don." The mafia and its violent mystique became a cultural phenomenon, showcased in films such as "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas," which were adaptations of the 6 million dollar robbery at Kennedy International Airport, as well as the popular television series "The Sopranos."

In the 1980s, federal prosecutors, including Rudy Giuliani, conducted a crackdown on the mafia using racketeering laws with the threat of life imprisonment, as well as leveraging the erosion of the Mafia's code of silence.

Dozens of people were imprisoned and the mafia structure built around social clubs was largely dismantled. Gotti, who ultimately was imprisoned, died of cancer in 2002 while serving a life sentence.

"I remember Giuliani claiming that organized crime was dead," said David Shapiro, a former FBI agent and assistant prosecutor who now teaches at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

However, the latest case in the NBA proves that the mafia organization is still alive. "The structure changes, leadership changes, methods change, but they still exist because there are people who become targets. It’s just that it is no longer as centralized, open, and organized," Shapiro stated.

The NBA case is likely to reignite the controversy surrounding the connection between gambling and professional sports competition. The sports world has indeed benefited from the influx of funds due to the legalization of gambling. However, questions also arise regarding the potential damage to the integrity of the competition.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated to ESPN his support for the regulation of sports betting. FanDuel, one of the NBA's official betting partners, issued a statement describing the allegations as very disturbing and sought to distinguish itself from the illegal betting market.

Not only in America, the gambling scandal has also undermined football competitions in Europe. Several star players have been banned from playing due to their involvement in betting. There is the case of former Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who was sentenced, as well as Newcastle United player Sandro Tonali. (AP/AFP/REUTERS)