Senate demands NBA chief Adam Silver disclose gambling investigation findings in wake of Mafia betting scandal

5 hours ago 9

By OLIVER SALT, US ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Published: 15:20 GMT, 28 October 2025 | Updated: 15:40 GMT, 28 October 2025

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been asked by a United States Senate committee to provide details about the league's own gambling investigations in light of the probe into an alleged Mafia betting operation.

According to ESPN, the Senate committee sent a letter to Silver on Monday in which it described last week's arrests of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and ex-NBA player and coach Damon Jones as a matter of 'Congressional concern.'

It also requested details about the NBA's approach to probing potential gambling violations, asking for documentation of its policies and a list of previous investigations regarding betting.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which oversees professional sports and is chaired by Texas Senator Ted Cruz, wants documents on any investigations into players, coaches, employees or owners by the league since 2020, as well as communications with sportsbooks and integrity monitors about suspicious wagers, and the findings and report from its internal investigation of Rozier.

'The integrity of NBA games must be trustworthy and free from the influence of organized crime or gambling-related activity. Sports betting scandals like this one may lead the American public to assume that all sports are corrupt,' committee members reportedly wrote.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has been asked by a Senate committee to provide details about the league's gambling policies and investigations

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was among over 30 people arrested over an FBI investigation into an alleged Mafia betting operation

It is the second letter received by the NBA from a Congressional committee since Rozier, Billups and Jones were among over 30 people indicted last week as part of an FBI investigation into the alleged Mafia-led illegal gambling scheme.

'This Committee needs to understand the specifics of the NBA's investigation and why Rozier was cleared to continue playing basketball,' the committee added.

Rozier, 31, has been accused of sharing inside information and removing himself early from at least one game for the benefit of gamblers, the indictment alleges.

The NBA said in January 2025 that it had investigated unusual betting activity on Rozier's unders two years earlier but 'did not find a violation of NBA rules.'

On Monday, as reported by ESPN, the league wrote to all 30 teams detailing plans to look into its policies including those related to injury reporting.

It's claimed the NBA is also reviewing its training and education for players and staff, as well as 'enhancing' its methods of identifying 'betting activity of concern.'

The Senate committee, which oversees pro sports, is chaired by Texas Senator Ted Cruz

Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups was also indicted last week amid the probe

Rozier was detained at a hotel in Orlando, Florida , after the Heat were defeated by the Magic in a road game Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, Trail Blazers coach Billups, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame last year, was arrested in relation to an alleged illegal poker operation linked with the Mafia.

The poker operation is allegedly tied to the Gambino, Bonanno and Genovese crime families, and saw rigged games take place in Manhattan, the Hamptons and Las Vegas .

It is alleged that New York's notorious crime families would use X-ray tables to tilt games in their favor and wear special high-tech contact lenses to read pre-marked cards.

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