Each year, sports leagues introduce rules changes, some minor, some not so. The National Basketball Association made a few for the coming season, including one adapted this month. The rule, approved by league officials, required starting lineups be set 30 minutes prior to tip-off, rather than 10. The seemingly minor change could be construed as catering to sports bettors.
By instituting the change, the NBA satisfies multiple interests, according to The Action Network. Fair play, for one. Respect for players’ health privacy, and for a public looking for the most information possible.
To quote the sentiment of several executives and coaches: “It’s about gambling. All of it.”
Last season, that pre-game active roster report was due 10 minutes prior to tipoff. The league proposed moving it to 30 minutes. Coaches preferred 45 minutes to avoid an overlap with team meetings. The league passed on that recommendation in an effort to “increase transparency for teams, media and fans,” based on a league statement.
In the end, the coaches were OK with 30 minutes so long as it was enforced. Of course, pre-game injuries like a twisted ankle may impact the lineups.
The latest change comes alongside a directive toward more transparency under the leadership of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. This push has delivered initiatives like the two-minute report and changes to requirements for injury and illness reporting.
Such knowledge lets potential consumers decide whether to purchase game day tickets if the star center is going to be out because of a freak injury. And it helps level the playing field in the interest of fair play.
At the same time, these issues also face some resistance from the players due to the sensitive nature of health conditions. Players need to share information on their availability and progress with the team, but they also deserve the right to pursue the best path to protecting and improving their health. All of these factors only serve to further complicate efforts the league may pursue in the future.
But it’s clear many think the league efforts to monetize a growing interest in wagering on the sport is influencing this particular move.
“The wider the information window is, the more gambling there will be,” a source told The Action Network. “The more gambling there is on the game, the better viewership will be, and ratings were way down last season.”
NBA local ratings were down 4 percent last season, per Sports Media Watch, and the playoffs suffered similar drops.
None of the NBA’s gaming partners specifically requested changes to the league’s injury reporting or policies, per a league spokesman. Scott Butera, president of interactive gaming for MGM Resorts, an official league partner, confirmed they have not made official requests to the league on this front.
“We’re not driving that conversation,” Butera said. “We do support consistency in injury reporting to the benefit of everyone involved, but it’s a tricky subject that involves both player safety and integrity of the game, both of which are paramount to our concerns.”
Still, Matt Chaprales, PointsBet USA’s head of content, says the changes would benefit NBA bettors by and large, particularly prop bettors.
“Because of the nature of injury or ‘load management’ scratches – which are often announced late—NBA markets can shift drastically just minutes before tipoff,” Chaprales said in a statement. “In many cases, the market will already begin moving before a key player is officially downgraded, which is a testament to the nexus of information professional bettors are privy to.”
Jeff Sherman, vice president of risk management at the Westgate Superbook, on the other hand, said most casual bettors bet when it’s convenient for them, so he doesn’t see a drastic change in that. Sherman also believes most sharp bettors are aware of the same information and patterns that the books are, so the additional time to wager with all the necessary information isn’t going to help them much, either.
According to Sherman, the modern media environment means the books are typically already aware of a player’s situation ahead of time. Twitter, in particular, provides constant updates from beat writers at practice and shoot-arounds, along with on-background reports from agents or the players themselves regarding their availability.
“Over the course of a season, sure, there will always be situations that catch you off guard,” Sherman said, “but for the most part that information is already present in the opening line; we don’t alter much after that official announcement.”
Where the true betting edge lies in all this is reacting quickly to major breaking news before books can adjust odds. To that end, three big-money NBA bettors polled by The Action Network declined comment on this story, specifically because of the edge they perceive that they hold under the current policies.
