It has been nearly seven years since the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to nationwide legalization of sports betting.

The NBA now finds itself deeply entrenched in the world of gambling, which has created significant financial benefits but also brought severe problems.

In 2021, the league partnered with FanDuel and DraftKings as its betting partners, and several teams have made deals with casinos.

As people can bet on games on-site or on their phones, and many viewers' focus shifts from fandom to betting, everything has become controversial.

This extends beyond the basketball court.

Last year, former Toronto Raptors forward Porter was banned by the NBA for betting on games and leaking insider information.

Miami Heat guard Rozier was also under federal investigation this year, but the league has declared him innocent.

For a large part of players who just want to do their job well, this is another destructive factor.

When some bettors lose a lot of money on basketball games or individual player performances, they vent their frustrations on players through social media.

In the most extreme cases, players even receive death threats in private messages.

This is precisely one of the darkest aspects of the lucrative money tree of sports betting.

Sports betting is an important and complex topic, which is why SofaScore included questions about sports betting in an anonymous NBA player poll.

We interviewed 150 players, nearly a third of the NBA league shared their views, and their responses were enthusiastic, diverse, and thoughtful.

Therefore, SofaScore decided to share all opinions here, of course, anonymously!

Views of NBA Players Who Disapprove of Betting

1 It blurs the original intent of basketball games, in my opinion, their way of promoting this kind of betting is predatory.

2 We should encourage responsible lottery, but now they deceive bettors by saying, 'Oh my God! Look how much money you can make! But in fact, the only reason these things exist is that the league can make a lot of money.

3 Why do you think they can spend so much money on advertising? Just from this issue, I think the close cooperation between betting companies and the NBA is very dangerous.

4 I know this increases the league's revenue, but it makes me a bit uneasy. Every game I play, I receive more than ten private messages, fans or gamblers send me messages like: Fuck, I'm going to ruin your family.

5 This kind of bet is bad for the league because it sells the soul to the worst kind of people in the fan community. They no longer see us as human beings, I'll say it again, they never saw us as human beings.

6 It's understandable that players are banned for betting on games, but we are also encouraging betting on basketball, which is not a good thing. It's like telling us not to use cocaine, but then giving players cocaine in the locker room.

7 If you ask the players, the messages we receive after the game are trash. You will find that gambling messages occupy a lot. I'm not saying it ruined the game, but gambling has a huge impact on fans. Before you just came to watch the game, now the purpose of coming to the scene is to bet on the game? So I think this is not good for the league, but the league indeed makes a lot of money from it.

8 Although it makes money, I think it makes the players' lives very difficult. I hate gambling, I hate everyone talking about various parlay bets. I hate people DMing me on social media, saying 'you messed up my parlay bet', I don't want to be cursed or threatened by these gamblers.

9 I feel that whenever you turn on the TV or NBA TV, you will always see some content about point spreads or basketball betting. You know, some players have gotten into trouble with this, but it indeed benefits the NBA, I think it's bad.

10 They make the fans crazy, some fans really go crazy because of this.

11 It's bad because these ads are directly targeting players, whether on the court or in the stands, it deprives fans of the real game-watching experience, it's just a waste of money.

12 People treat the game as a bet, and we players are scolded bloody. This takes the fun out of the game, you can just bet on which team will win, that's it, but you shouldn't open markets around players.

13 I think it's too bad because we can't know everything, there are a lot of internal things here, we as players don't really understand how it works.

14 I think promoting basketball betting should not be encouraged, people already think the games are rigged. I'm a player in the league, if I watch some games at home, I feel like some games seem to be rigged.

15 I think sports betting has never been a good thing, people no longer focus on the game, but only care about making money, this damages the integrity of the sports industry.

16 It's too bad, I don't know how the league is going to handle this.

17 As long as it makes money, I don't care. But now the situation is very bad. During the game, people call my mom to ask about betting tendencies.

18 This is not good, it has economic benefits, but it's bad for players and everyone in the club.

19 It's bad, but the NBA makes money from it, so it makes sense. I don't like it because it makes fans no longer really understand basketball, it just makes things worse.

20 Those addicted to gambling will say crazy things, and we are encouraging them to do so.

21 It's terrible, I hate gambling, I hate everything that comes with it. After the game, I have several people in my DMs discussing betting issues. I hate this partnership, every game, good or bad, someone sends me death threats or racist nonsense. We players become targets because they lost so much money on us.

22 Most of these bettors are not fans, they just want to make money.

23 I receive a lot of DMs and death threats, I don't look at them or take them seriously, but I don't like the atmosphere.

24 People get into sports betting, they harass these bettors, letting them continue to bet.

25 They bet money on us, then criticize us at will, it's bad.

26 It's too bad, they are depriving this sport of its morals. Fans don't even care about winning or losing, they have no team loyalty, they only care about whether their bets win money. Maybe this helps the league to some extent, but I think it kind of deprives the sport of its morals. Fans are very disrespectful to us in this regard, they criticize us in DMs after every game, this makes real fans who appreciate the players lose interest. Because these bettors just want to see if a player can grab a rebound or score points, they don't really appreciate the team, they also don't really experience the other joys of watching an NBA game.

27 From a business perspective, this is good. But I think it's bad for the game because now fans only care about their betting profits. When I walk to the court, all I hear is 'I need 10 rebounds, I need 15 points, I need this, I need that.' This is very disrespectful to the game, disrespectful to everything we do.

28 NBA basketball betting is a bad idea, if the players get involved in this issue, it's bad.

29 I'm sure this makes a lot of money, but it completely messes up the fairness of the game. Everyone is betting, but we players are the ones who control the game, this is not good for the league, but it indeed brings more revenue to the league.

30 I hate this thing, too many people inexplicably curse at you for their parlay bets or something, people no longer just enjoy basketball itself, they just think: watch this player, see if he can win this parlay bet.

31 This reminds me of the movie 'Casino', everything is money-oriented. It's not pure at all, I just think it's wrong for America to promote basketball betting, basketball betting is okay, but the way it's promoted is very dangerous.

32 Someone will lose money, I don't like it at all. Fans will make noise anyway, but I think this is more about promoting gambling to young people, kids will watch this.

33 This is the dumbest thing ever, some people don't watch the game at all, they just look at the data. If you mess up someone's bet, these bettors will bother you.

34 I think this is damaging the soul of the game, it's economically beneficial in the short term, but in the long run, it's not good for the essence of basketball.

35 This is bad because you mix gambling with the fairness of this sport.

36 It's difficult because in the end, it's just business. If they want to do this, why are they so strict with us? But I understand, actions like match-fixing might make the game bad, but in the end, it's just for money.

37 From a profit perspective, I understand. But from the relationship between fans and players, this is not good for the league.

38 From a player's perspective, this might be a bit bad, because you will encounter more angry fans.

39 Honestly, I think this has ruined the fan base of basketball or any sport. If your score matches the bettors' bets, they will like you. If you don't meet expectations, they would want to kill you.

40 This is bad for the league, it seems to help increase revenue, but also you see people participating in betting, and someone in front of you promoting these basketball betting inducement topics, it's hard not to want to participate in it.

41 This will only cause a lot of hatred.

42 This is not good for the league, it will weaken the dedication of NBA players.

Views of NBA Players Who Approve of Betting

1 I think this is just another money-making opportunity, this is just a business.

2 Great, basketball betting is great for the league. More money, more attention, more fan participation.

3 I think they are good, more money is coming, isn't it?

4 I think it's fine as long as players don't participate in it. Other than that, I think it's all good, let everyone do what they want to do.

5 I think this will attract more people to watch the games, especially during the regular season.

6 Obviously, you have some hardcore fans, but you need more people to watch the games. If you think they are watching the games for betting, that's okay. Obviously, the complaints are people sending you DMs, or other things, like hate mail or something. In the end, we make more money from ratings, so I'd rather have more money and more people yelling at me, I don't want no one yelling at me, and less money.

7 I think this is good, it can help the league make money. This is our goal, the more the league earns, the more salary and bonus income we players can get.

8 I think this can attract fans, we also get more attention from fans because of this, I think this can help those players who want to make more money to perform better. This actually doesn't hurt us, I really don't care, I think those players who care are very sensitive.

9 Basketball betting can help fans participate in a completely different way.

10 I think this will attract more people to watch the NBA, this will bring some different fan groups and perspectives, more attention is always good.

11 This makes the league earn more money, to some extent, we also share in it. This is good for the game, good for the fans. Of course, it's not good if players also participate in betting. But I think overall, the legalization of NBA basketball betting is a good thing.

12 All the publicity is to bring more revenue, more participation, that's the nature of publicity.

13 I don't mind, this is entertainment for the fans. Some players hate it, I do think this will attract real fans to become gamblers, but, fuck, people need to make money.

14 It's good, this can make fans more engaged in watching the games. You just need to worry about the personal integrity of the players, don't let players participate in betting. But when you want to get fans involved, this is definitely helpful.

15 This will make more people watch the games, good or bad, people will participate more in the league.

16 Anyway, the league can get more money, it's all good.

17 This is interesting. Of course, the premise is that no players or related personnel are involved.

18 I think this is good, this provides a channel for fans to bet and have fun. But you have to do it responsibly, I think this is good.

19 This is good because this helps promote the league and all teams, I think this is good, it's beneficial for both sides.

20 This is good, but precisely because of this, people actually don't watch the games.

21 I think this is good, this can attract people to watch the games. When people spend money on the games, they get involved.

22 This can make the league earn more money, in a sense, this also puts your players at risk, I think this is good. I personally don't like it, but I think this is good for the league.

23 I think this creates opportunities for fan growth, I have no objections to this.

Views of NBA Players Who Are Neutral on Betting

1 On the good side, it brings in a lot of money. On the bad side, all I hear are complaints about mishandling the game.

2 Overall, this is a good thing for the revenue it brings to the league, but it's annoying to deal with.

3 From a business and money perspective, this is good. But from the perspective of players and fans, this is bad.

4 It's okay, don't take betting too seriously.

5 It depends on the situation, obviously, all this is for money, if you see the essence of things. Obviously, situations like Porter's are not ideal for the league, and there will still be such things. But, money, this is good, because I'm sure the league can make a lot of money, but I think gambling is generally a bad thing, so I'm not sure if the league should encourage this.

6 This is good for making money, but not good for those who are overly invested and addicted to treating the game, but my view is fifty-fifty.

7 There are good and bad, this is for raising funds. Money is always good, at the same time, you also get caught by some bastards with off-field gambling habits. The league has been cracking down on some players, but this has somewhat shamed our league.

8 I think it's bad, but they do business to make money, this is great, I'm telling the truth!

9 This gives fans some expectations, but they invest too much, they think everything is analyzed around data, but the result is really fifty-fifty. I'm not against it, yes, I support it, I'm not angry.

10 I mean, from a business perspective, this is good. From a moral perspective, it might not be good. But for business development, I think this is a good thing.

11 Obviously, the ratings will go up, they watch more because they have invested money in the games. But at the same time, this is also a bit bad for the game, because now you don't even get an assist, people will come over and shout your name. So, for ratings, this is certainly a good thing. But at the same time, the human factor in this is also a bit bad for players.

12 This is difficult, because in the end, it's just business. If they want to do this, why are they so strict with us? But I understand, actions like match-fixing indeed make the game bad. But in the end, it's just for money.

13 Both. Basketball betting can make the league earn more money, at the same time, real fans are getting fewer, bettors just want to make money, but they actually lose money.

14 This obviously brings more revenue, but also has bad aspects, because people already see us as entertainers, and gambling makes them feel that we are not human at all, more like a money-making tool.

15 I mean, from a business perspective, this is good. From a moral perspective, it might not be good. But for business development, I think this is a good thing.

16 This is good because fans will be happier, but it might also be bad, because we as players bear all the hatred.

17 From a business perspective, I'm sure this is a good thing. I just think players hate sports betting because they get scolded, but I think this might still be good for business.