ESPN Makes Quick Decision Amid NBA Arrests

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player/coach Damon Jones were arrested by the FBI on Thursday morning for their alleged involvements in gambling-related schemes.

As confirmed by ABC and widely reported by ESPN, which has its own sportsbook in ESPN Bet, Billups was a part of a mafia-backed poker scam. The alleged scam saw him use his NBA player status to boost the game's credibility. The games reportedly used "rigged shuffling machines and even X-ray technology to read cards facing down" to rig games. The report revealed that the scam earned upwards of $7 million. The 49-year-old Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee has since been placed on leave by the NBA.

As for Rozier and Jones, they were arrested in a separate case that is centered around prop bets. The 31-year-old guard allegedly "tipped off a co-defendant that he planned to leave the game early with a purported injury," leading to $200,000 in wagers being placed on his prop bets where the under was taken. Jones used exclusive information about injuries to relay to bettors.