Last week, the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter was banned for life from the NBA after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, including betting on the Raptors to lose.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while making the announcement, called Porter’s actions “blatant”.
“There is nothing more important than protecting the integrity of NBA competition for our fans, our teams and everyone associated with our sport, which is why Jontay Porter’s blatant violations of our gaming rules are being met with the most severe punishment,” Silver said.
The investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organisation that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter’s performance in a game on March 20 against Sacramento Kings.
The league has partnerships and other relationships with more than two dozen gaming companies, many of whom advertise during NBA games in a variety of ways. The league has very strict rules for players and employees regarding betting.
The alliance between gambling and sport is what some in the Caribbean will call an “unholy alliance”.
Legal gambling is a multi-billion-dollar business as is illegal gambling in sport. Is it hypocritical for sport to go into bed with the gambling industry? Should sport and gambling not be seen similarly to sport and the alcohol industry? The NBA and its commissioner, Silver, have found a way to achieve what they, along with the gambling industry, may consider a delicate balance.
The issue of illegal gambling in T&T sport reared its ugly head last year when Travis Mulraine, then-Guaya Utd coach, made allegations that some of his players were involved in manipulation of games.
To-date, there appears to be no action taken by the T&T Football Association (TTFA) to address the troubling allegations. Mulraine, a former national player attributed some of his team’s losses to alleged match-fixing.
At the eighth T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) Sport Industry TT conference held in April last year, feature speaker and former minister of agriculture and government senator, Clarence Rambharat, emphasised that gambling is the new tobacco in sport. “... we must be aware of the influence of betting firms in sponsorship and the dangers they pose...”
Last week was also the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) prize-giving function and I accepted an invitation to deliver the feature address. Amongst other points, I urged the footballers to pay special attention to their education. I highlighted the importance of the SSFL in producing outstanding national footballers and coaches and reminded the young student footballers that the future of T&T football is in their football kit and school bags.
It begs the question, can a Jontay Porter scenario occur in SSFL games? What is the SSFL doing to protect the league from gambling and match-fixing? There is an ever present danger. Mulraine’s allegations of match-fixing in the T&T Premier Football League (TTPFL) may have been ignored by both the TTPFL and TTFA but can the SSFL similarly bury their heads in the sand? The SSFL has a duty and obligation to protect secondary schools football and ensure that SSFL football and student footballers have a safe space—clean football, free from illegal gambling, match-fixing and doping. The SSFL should remember the “old people” saying: “When your neighbour house on fire wet yours”.
Illegal gambling and match-fixing in sport is not a joking matter.