The federal government’s investigation into suspicious betting patterns involving Terry Rozier just took a twist.
According to ESPN’s David Purdum, a professional sports bettor placed 30 wagers involving Rozier, all of which won, ahead of a 2023 NBA game.
Key Takeaways
- Rozier was cleared of wrongdoing by the NBA
- The bettor placed all 30 of their bets, the largest of which was for $2,700, within 46 minutes
- Similar to Jontay Porter, Rozier exited the game prematurely despite not being on the pre-game injury report
According to the report, a bettor in Biloxi, Mississippi, placed $13,759 worth of bets involving Rozier on the morning of March 23, 2023. All of the bets involved “unders” on Rozier’s player prop lines and were submitted within a 46-minute window.
The game was between the Charlotte Hornets, for whom Rozier then played, and the New Orleans Pelicans, and took place in New Orleans.
At least six sportsbooks in several states reported suspicious betting activity involving Rozier’s prop lines. U.S. Integrity, a firm that monitors sportsbooks for irregular activity, relayed that most of the oddities occurred in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Rozier played for 10 minutes and then exited with a foot issue. He finished with five points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal and cashed the under on all of his lines.
He did not play in another game for the rest of the season, despite the Hornets having another eight games on their schedule, and was eventually traded to the Heat in January 2024.
No concrete proof of wrongdoing
The NBA already opened and closed an investigation into the incident. However, the Eastern District of New York, which notably investigated Jontay Porter’s betting scandal, is still looking into the events.
The casino at which the professional bettor placed his wagers attempted to withhold their winnings, which they claimed were procured by way of “rigging” and suspicion of inside information.
The casino, Harrah’s Gulf Coast, and its Caesars sportsbook were later told by the Mississippi Gaming Commission they needed to pay the winnings unless they could provide evidence to back their suspicions.
One week later, the casino sent the bettor their $13,017.70 in winnings.
Harrah’s wasn’t the only facility to quickly detect abnormal betting patterns. Around 2:30 p.m. on gameday, U.S. Integrity sent a nationwide alert about “Suspicious Wagering Terry Rozier NBA Player Props” following reports from several New Orleans sportsbooks.
Despite suspicions, Rozier’s lawyer says that he is not guilty of wrongdoing.
“It's unfortunate that he's a big name in sports and is having to endure all this,” Jim Trusty said, per ESPN. “My hope and expectation is that at some point that they'll be done with their investigation and will be professional enough to let us know that it's 100% over and that they reached the same conclusion that was reached in 2023.”
More turns to come?
As case details continue to be revealed, there is one potentially crucial source of information.
Yahoo Sports contributor Tom Haberstroh and Meadowlark Media's Pablo Torre and Amin Elhassan found that an anonymous figure using the alias “Moose” linked Rozier, Porter, and Malik Beasley (also under investigation), and predicted Beasley would face a probe five months before the news was reported.
Additionally, several betting accounts that wagered on Porter’s props also bet on Rozier during the game in question, along with several college basketball games that experienced abnormal betting activity.
