Sachin Shankar Yadav 
In an FBI-led nationwide crackdown that exposed a vast Mafia-linked gambling and corruption network within the NBA, Chauncey Billups, the head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and an NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested along with a number of other basketball figures.
The 11-state FBI investigation, code-named “Operation Nothing But Bet,” has been going on for years. The operation revealed two intertwined criminal enterprises: a Mafia-backed poker game rigging ring and an insider NBA sports betting conspiracy, according to FBI Director Kash Patel. Billups, former Cleveland Cavaliers player and coach Damon Jones, and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier are among the more than 30 people who have been taken into custody.
The investigation found that four big Mafia families in New York—Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Luchese—were directly involved in funding and protecting these illegal gambling operations. They are said to have used offshore betting accounts, cryptocurrencies, and shell companies to clean up “tens of millions of dollars” in gambling winnings.
Authorities say that some NBA players and coaches gave insider information about players’ availability, health, or game plans to help them win bets. Some players are said to have faked injuries or left games early to change the outcomes of games that were linked to gambling profits.
- Chauncey Billups: Linked to an illegal poker game run by the Mafia that used marked cards and X-ray tables.
- Terry Rozier: Accused of changing how he played in games to help people who were betting illegally.
- Damon Jones: Is said to have given out secret team information for betting purposes.
Officials say the poker ring used high-tech cheating tools like contact lenses, X-ray tables, and marked decks to rig games against rich people, making millions of dollars in illegal profits. Enforcing gambling debts in the network also led to violence, robbery, and extortion.
Billups and Rozier were immediately suspended by the NBA while an investigation was conducted. Charges of wire fraud, money laundering, illegal gambling, and conspiracy to commit extortion are all part of an ongoing federal case, according to confirmation from the Justice Department. The case is regarded by the prosecution as one of the biggest investigations into sports corruption in American history.
With the FBI continuing to deepen its investigation into possible match-fixing and wider Mafia influence in professional basketball, this extensive scandal has called into question the league’s integrity.