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If television ratings are any indication, the multiple poker-related scandals surrounding the NBA don’t seem to be causing any harm to the league, at least for now.
Numerous coaches and players — past and present — have been implicated in separate federal cases involving allegedly rigged and illegal high-stakes private poker games over the past few months. Most recently, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, investigators claim, participated in the rigging of poker games in 2019, one such game involved NBA legend Kevin Garnett, who is not accused of any crime and appears to have merely been a celebrity player in the game.
NBA TV Ratings Following Alleged Illegal Poker Games
Billups, a world champion who averaged 15.2 points and 5.4 assists per game over a 17-year career that ended in 2014, was one of the FBI’s key targets when the basketball star was indicted last month. But he isn’t the only former NBA great facing federal charges.
Gilbert Arenas, a legendary Washington Wizards guard during the 2000s, found himself charged in August for allegedly running illegal poker games at his home in Los Angeles. Terry Rozier, a quality veteran roleplayer who had been active with the Miami Heat prior to his arrest, was charged at the same time as Billups with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering stemming from allegations that he tipped off a bettor about his intentions to exit a game early.
Things got seemingly worse for the NBA’s reputation last week when another head coach, Tyrone Lue (Los Angeles Clippers), was implicated in the Billups scandal. All those incidents occurred before or right around the start of the 2025-2026 NBA regular season, yet the negative publicity hasn’t caused any damage to television ratings. In fact, the opposite is true.
Opening Week games averaged 2.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen’s TV ratings, up 60% compared to last year and the highest first-week viewership the league has seen since 2017.
It should be noted that the NBA has a new media rights deal that has games available on more TV channels and streaming services than ever before, contributing to the increased TV ratings. But it’s clear the gambling scandals haven’t turned the fans away.
The same can be said of the poker industry, which rarely receives mainstream media attention for anything that doesn’t involve a scandal, such as the “Jack-four” incident on Hustler Casino Live in 2022 or the Mike Postle cheating allegations in 2019. World Series of Poker (WSOP) turnout the past few years has been at an all-time high, with attendance records being set, similar with numerous other tournaments around the world.
