Court Documents Reveal Jontay Porter’s In-Game Texts During Betting Scandal

Last year, former Raptors player Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban from the NBA for violating the league’s gambling rules and recent court documents reveal that he sent texts to conspirators during NBA games he attended.

The disgraced gambler worked with a number of men and purposely beat the underdogs on many of his bets to make money through betting agents in an attempt to clear his gambling debt.

One of those men, was arrested Sunday morning while trying to travel to Colombia with a one-way ticket, carrying several cell phones and less than $10,000 in cash.

Four other men have been charged as part of the scheme, two of whom have pleaded guilty.

Porter was not named in the complaint against Hennen, but the details in the document are consistent with his case.

In the tweets, Porter wrote a message to the men during Toronto’s 108-100 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 22, 2024, that he did not expect to play in the second half due to an eye injury.

“I went back to the locker room to get my eyes checked,” the text read.

“Idk if I stop playing too much”

“I’m not starting the second half

“But if it’s garbage time, I’ll shoot a million.”

Porter then got more details four days later for Toronto’s game against LAC.

“Hit the underdogs to get big numbers,” Porter said (via The Athletic). “I said [Co-Conspirator 2] no blocks are missing. I will start playing for 2-3 minutes on the bench and then when I am taken off I will tell them that my eye is killing me again.”

Both the Raptors’ January 26 loss to the Clippers and the 123-89 loss to the Sacramento Kings were flagged for suspicious betting patterns.

“A sports industry source told ESPN that multiple betting accounts tried to place big bets, upwards of $10,000 and $20,000, on Porter unders a January game against the Clippers,” ESPN reported at the time. “Betting limits on NBA players’ bases vary by sportsbook and customer but are generally $1,000 to $2,000.”

Porter pleaded guilty to fraud in July, and the NBA suspended him from the league last April. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May.

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