NBA Hornets Cancel ‘Sports Betting Night’ Due to Terry Rozier’s Ongoing Gambling Investigation

The NBA’s Charlotte Hornets have scrapped a scheduled “Sports Betting Night” with former player Terry Rozier and the Miami Heat, set to visit the Spectrum Center next March.

The Hornets subsequently removed any mention of “Sports Betting Night” on their promotional calendar for the upcoming season. The Heat-Hornets game was scheduled for March 17, which also happens to be Rozier’s birthday.

Rozier, who played for Charlotte from 2019 to 2024, remains part of an ongoing federal probe involving suspicious betting patterns during one of his games in 2023. The NBA previously concluded its own investigation and found no wrongdoing.

On March 23, 2023, a bettor at Harrah’s Gulf Coast sportsbook in Biloxi, Mississippi, made 30 bets in a span of 46 minutes on “unders” for Rozier’s player props. Rozier exited that night’s game against the Pelicans with a foot injury after just 10 minutes. All 30 bets cashed for a net total of $13,017.70.

2025: Suspicious Betting Investigations Commonplace

The NBA is not alone in investigating suspicious betting patterns, which have become increasingly prevalent this year. Here’s a look at some of the most recent investigations and findings.

NCAA Bans Three College Basketball Players, Investigates 13 More

The NCAA announced this week that three college basketball players—Mykell Robinson, Steven Vasquez, and Jalen Weaver—were permanently banned from competing and expelled from their schools for gambling violations involving player props. All three players were at Fresno State during the 2023-24 season, before Vasquez moved to San Jose State.

The NCAA is also investigating 13 more college basketball players for sports betting rule violations. The players competed for six different schools: Eastern Michigan, Temple, Arizona State, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley.

Guardians Pitchers Placed on Extended Leave by MLB

Cleveland pitchers Luis Ortiz and Emmanuel Clase were scheduled to return on August 31, but MLB has now placed them both on indefinite leave. Ortiz was suspended on July 3 after industry watchdog IC360 detected unusual betting activity on two pitches he threw for balls. Clase was suspended in late July, but it’s not known if his investigation is related to Ortiz.  

Ongoing Saga of Malik Beasley

Former Detroit Piston Malik Beasley was previously part of a federal investigation, and now finds himself being probed by the NBA. Suspicious betting patterns on Beasley to record fewer than 2.5 rebounds in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers were flagged. He went on to record six rebounds in that game during the 2023-24 season, and his career remains in limbo.

Curious Case of Lucas Paqueta

The English Football Association charged Lucas Paquetá with four counts of spot-fixing following a 10-month investigation. The player was accused of deliberately picking up yellow cards while playing for Premier League side West Ham. Paqueta was cleared of the charges last month, but an independent regulatory commission report released this week failed to fully exonerate the Brazilian star.

Is Banning Player Props the Answer?

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine wants his state to become the first to ban all player props. DeWine successfully endorsed a ban on college prop bets, which went into effect in February of last year. 

During the ongoing investigation into the Cleveland Guardians pitchers, DeWine started his public campaign to eradicate all player props in the Buckeye State.

DeWine stated: “The evidence that prop betting is harming athletics in Ohio is reaching critical mass. First, there were threats on Ohio (student) athletes, and now two high-profile Ohio professional athletes have been suspended by Major League Baseball as part of a ‘sports betting investigation.’”

He added: “The harm to athletes and the integrity of the game is clear, and the benefits are not worth the harm. The prop betting experiment in this country has failed badly. I call on the Casino Control Commission to correct this problem and remove all prop bets from the Ohio marketplace.”

There’s no silver bullet to remove all forms of suspicious betting activity, but banning player props would help mitigate their prevalence.