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October 17, 2026 at 12:21 AM UTC

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NBA Orders Sportsbook Partners to Drop Opening-Tip, Missed-Shot and Same-Player Under Parlay Bets

A league memo reported Friday tells authorized sportsbooks such as DraftKings and FanDuel to stop offering several markets seen as easy to manipulate, in the latest integrity step after recent betting scandals.

A DraftKings Sports & Social venue displays an NBA game for patrons.

The NBA has told its authorized sportsbook partners to stop offering several categories of bets, ESPN's Shams Charania and David Purdum reported Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. According to their account of a league memo, the group, which includes DraftKings and FanDuel, should no longer take wagers on the winner of the opening tip or on players to miss specific shots. They should also drop under bets on players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes in a given game. Parlays that involve the under on the same player's statistics are also reportedly prohibited.

The Associated Press reported that the restrictions apply this season and include markets on which player records the first stat of a game. The reports describe a league directive to its operators rather than a change in law or regulation.

What is being removed

The memo targets a mix of single-event props and structured bets. Reporting on the guidance describes a ban on "first of" markets, such as the winner of the opening tip or the player who records a specific first shot, rebound, assist or steal. Those wagers hinge on a single, early moment that a small number of people could influence or know about in advance.

Charania also reported additional restrictions: bets on players on 10-day or two-way contracts, player props on turnovers, bets related to fouls, and bets related to missed free throws. Separately, the under restriction applies to players expected to play fewer than 12 minutes, and parlays built on the under of one player's stats are off the board.

The reports do not say how enforcement will work, what penalties apply or when each restriction takes effect beyond this season.

A FanDuel Sportsbook sign promotes sports betting inside a viewing venue.

The sportsbook response

DraftKings said the guidance largely codifies what it already does. "The NBA's guidance formalizes many of the market restrictions already reflected in DraftKings Sportsbook's practices," a company spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson added that DraftKings supports the league's efforts and is committed to continued collaboration on game integrity, including through appropriate limits on betting markets.

That statement suggests the practical change for at least one major operator may be smaller than the list implies. Whether other partners, including FanDuel, had comparable limits in place was not addressed in the available reporting.

ESPN also reported that the league's agreements with sportsbooks give it authority to restrict what its partners offer. That detail explains how the NBA can issue such a memo and expect compliance from licensed operators.

Why the league is acting now

The memo follows a run of integrity cases. An FBI gambling investigation led to more than 30 arrests last fall, including a rigged poker-ring case and a separate sports betting case centered on trading non-public information about the health and availability of NBA players. Among the six defendants in the betting case is longtime NBA guard Terry Rozier, who was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. He pleaded not guilty in December.

Prosecutors allege that before a March 2023 game in which Rozier played only a little over nine minutes for the Charlotte Hornets because of a foot injury, he shared inside information about his availability. Those are allegations, and the case is unresolved. The league has also faced the earlier Jontay Porter case, which Yahoo Sports described, along with Rozier's, as showing how vulnerable the sport can be.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks at a league event.

What the choices suggest

The following is analysis rather than reported fact. The markets named in the memo share a feature: their outcomes can depend on one person's knowledge or behavior, and they are cheap to influence compared with a full-game result. A minutes-based under on a marginal player is exposed to exactly the kind of information the Rozier allegations describe, such as an undisclosed injury or a limited role. Opening-tip and first-event bets resolve in seconds and turn on a single participant's actions.

The limits on two-way and 10-day players fit the same logic. Those players typically have less public scrutiny and less predictable playing time, so unusual activity could be harder to spot. The league has not publicly laid out that reasoning in the reports reviewed, so it should be read as an interpretation of the pattern.

The same-player under parlay ban addresses a different problem. Stacking several unders on one player concentrates risk on a single person's performance, so one participant who controls or knows the outcome could affect every leg of the bet.

What to watch

The main questions are practical. Operators will need to update their menus before the season, and bettors will see fewer prop options on some games. The league has not said whether it will publish the full memo or expand the list later. Regulators and other leagues, some of which are dealing with their own issues such as microbetting in Major League Baseball, may also look at the NBA's approach as a template.

For now, the confirmed development is narrow: a league memo, reported Friday, directing its sportsbook partners to remove a defined set of markets. Whether it reduces integrity risk will depend on enforcement and on how the pending cases resolve.

Sources

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