Photo: Peter Baba

Legal and gaming experts warn the NBA could face massive lawsuits – possibly in the billions – following the league’s widening gambling scandal.

The controversy erupted after federal prosecutors charged 31 people, including Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and former Cavaliers player Damon Jones, in a sweeping illegal betting case linked to organized crime.

“The risk to the league to defend this and all of the dominoes off of it, including the overall integrity of the brand is definitely nine figures, and could be 10 figures,” said Marc Dunbar, president of the International Masters of Gaming Law, to The New York Post. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a lawsuit is dropped by or before next Friday.”

Rozier allegedly tipped off friends about injuries so they could place insider bets, while Billups and Jones are accused of serving as “face cards” to attract gamblers to rigged poker games.

Court documents also suggest Billups warned gamblers the Trail Blazers planned to tank a game, though he hasn’t been charged in that scheme.

Gaming attorney Ernest Matthews predicted, “There’ll be some resulting class actions coming out of all this.”

Dunbar added that the scandal threatens confidence across the sports betting industry. “Everybody in the industry is concerned what this means,” he said, pointing to the league’s growing ties with gambling operators.

Matthews noted the NBA could be more exposed to litigation than the betting platforms themselves, since users typically sign agreements requiring arbitration – sometimes even in places like Malta.

Dunbar added that players and coaches could face serious legal jeopardy under federal anti–match-fixing laws.

“You can use those as a basis for civil racketeering claims … you definitely have enough actors and enough money involved to probably meet racketeering thresholds.”

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