Adam Silver wrote 437 words in November 2014 that altered how professional basketball relates to gambling. The NBA commissioner published an op-ed in The New York Times with a headline that read “Legalize and Regulate Sports Betting.” No acting commissioner of a major U.S. sports league had publicly supported legalized sports betting before that moment. The piece reversed decades of official opposition and started a conversation that had been avoided for years.
Four years later, the Supreme Court validated Silver’s position. On May 14, 2018, the court ruled 6-3 in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was unconstitutional. The federal statute had prohibited states from authorizing sports gambling, and its removal opened the door for state legislatures across the country. As of 2025, 39 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico have legalized sports betting in some form. 32 of those states offer online and mobile options.
The NBA moved quickly after the ruling.
The First Partnerships
MGM Resorts International became the league’s first official gaming partner in 2018. This deal marked the beginning of formal business relationships between the NBA and gambling operators. FanDuel and DraftKings followed in 2021, signing on as official NBA betting partners. A decade after Silver’s op-ed, the league maintains more than two dozen business relationships with gaming companies.
These partnerships have contributed to record sponsorship revenue. SponsorUnited reported that NBA team sponsorship revenue reached $1.62 billion this season, an 8% increase year-over-year and 91% higher than five years ago. Heading into the 2023-24 season, the NBA was projected to receive over $160 million from casinos and betting operators alone. That figure represented more than 10% growth from the previous year.
How The Sportsbooks Incentivize Sign-Ups
Sportsbooks compete for bettors through sign-up offers and seasonal promotions. New users can find promo codes, welcome bonuses, and deposit matches across platforms like FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM. These incentives reduce initial risk and extend how long a bankroll lasts.
Comparing odds across multiple books also matters. Line shopping for NBA spreads and totals can mean the difference between a losing ticket and a push. Stacking promotional credits with favorable lines gives bettors more room to work with over a full season.
Where the Money Goes
The American Gaming Association’s annual report shows the U.S. sports betting industry posted $13.71 billion in revenue for 2024. Legal sportsbooks processed nearly $150 billion in wagers. Americans bet $147.9 billion with legal operators that year, a 23.6% increase from the prior year. New York generated $2.1 billion in sports betting revenue for 2024, retaining its position as the largest market in the country.
Commercial gaming revenue across the U.S. reached $71.9 billion in 2024. This marked the fourth consecutive year of record results. Gaming operators paid an estimated $15.66 billion in gaming taxes that year, 8.5% more than the year before.
Digital betting has grown faster than retail. 30% of all commercial gaming revenue came from online sources in 2024, up from 25% in 2023 and 13% in 2021.
Inside the Arena
Gambling has moved into the stadium itself. Several NBA arenas now house sportsbooks where fans can place real-time bets during games. DraftKings launched its sportsbook platform in 2018 and serves as the presenting provider for NBABet Stream, a betting-focused broadcast available through NBA League Pass subscriptions and the NBA TV App.
Sportradar, which holds an exclusive partnership with the NBA, has developed products aimed at in-play betting. The company’s Senior Vice President Patrick Mostboeck stated that their emBET product makes “in-play betting more engaging and immersive.”
The Jontay Porter Ban
The integration of gambling into professional basketball has produced problems. In April 2024, the NBA announced that Jontay Porter, a two-way player with the Toronto Raptors, had been banned from the league. A league investigation determined that Porter violated rules by sharing confidential information with bettors, limiting his own participation in games for betting purposes, and betting on NBA games himself.
From January through March 2024, Porter placed at least 13 bets on NBA games totaling $54,094. His total payout was $76,059, resulting in net winnings of $21,965. This was the first time in 70 years that the league banned a player for gambling.
In response, the NBA and its gambling partners agreed to remove under prop bets on the lowest paid players in the league. Per the agreement with FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM, no “under” bets are offered on any player on a two-way or 10-day contract.
Federal Indictments
The concerns have grown more serious. In October 2025, CNN and NBC News reported that Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former NBA player Damon Jones were among 34 people indicted in two separate federal gambling investigations. The arrests spanned 11 states and included charges of wire fraud, money laundering, extortion, robbery, and illegal gambling.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the alleged activity as a “criminal enterprise that envelops both the NBA and La Cosa Nostra.” Prosecutors identified at least seven games between February 2023 and March 2024 under scrutiny. According to the indictment, Rozier allegedly told associates he would leave a February 2023 game early due to injury, allowing them to place over $200,000 in bets predicting his underperformance.
Silver’s Position Remains Unchanged
Despite these cases, Silver has not reversed his stance. He has stated that he does not regret the 2014 op-ed and that he still supports legalized betting. His argument centers on practicality: people will bet on sports regardless of legality, and regulation allows for oversight.
Silver has criticized the current system as a “hodgepodge” of state-by-state rules. He has pointed to competition between states like New York and New Jersey as evidence that a national strategy would produce better outcomes.
What Comes Next
The NBA has committed itself to gambling in ways that cannot be easily undone. Sponsorship money flows from betting operators. Broadcasts are built around wagering. Arenas house sportsbooks. The business model now includes gambling as a revenue source.
The legal cases involving Porter, Rozier, Billups, and others show that proximity to gambling creates vulnerability. Players at the margins of rosters, those on two-way and 10-day contracts, remain at higher risk of exploitation. The removal of certain prop bets addresses one avenue of manipulation, but federal prosecutors have identified others.
The numbers will continue to grow. Americans wagered $147.9 billion legally in 2024. State governments collected billions in gaming taxes. The infrastructure supporting legal betting expands each year. The NBA will remain at the center of this activity, collecting sponsorship revenue while managing the risks that come with it.