N.B.A. Limits on Referees’ Wagering Spelled Out (Published 2007) (2024)

An eight-page pamphlet distributed by the National Basketball Association to its referees before last season delineates a wide range of prohibitions against various forms of gambling, including rules that led the league to investigate the referee Tim Donaghy two years ago.

Donaghy, who refereed for 13 years in the N.B.A. before resigning two weeks ago, is under federal investigation for betting on league games and associating with organized crime figures. A person involved in the case said yesterday that Donaghy planned to surrender to authorities late this week or early next week.

David Stern, the N.B.A commissioner, said he would hold a news conference today at a Manhattan hotel.

According to the pamphlet given to all referees, titled “Bad Bet: Understanding the N.B.A.’s Anti-Gambling Rules,” all players and league personnel are barred from gambling on any league game, including those in which they do not participate. Rules for referees go considerably further. They are prohibited from “participating in any gambling or placing bets of any kind.”

Officials are barred from visiting or attending “any racetrack, off-track betting establishment, casino or gambling establishment of any kind.” Violating the rules subjects the referee “to discipline by the N.B.A., including termination of his or her employment.”

The N.B.A. contracted an outside firm to look into accusations from 2005 that Donaghy was seen gambling in the Borgata, a casino in Atlantic City, according to a person with knowledge of the league’s investigative process who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing F.B.I. investigation.

The league interviewed Donaghy at its offices as part of its investigation but was unable to substantiate the allegations, which were part of a lawsuit brought by a neighbor of Donaghy in Pennsylvania.

During the off-season, referees are permitted to bet at racetracks or attend shows at casinos, as long as they do not enter a casino gaming area.

“We can’t even walk across the casino floor,” said one official, who was granted anonymity because referees are also forbidden to speak with the news media. “They don’t want you going anywhere where people could get the wrong idea.”

“Bad Bets” also discusses rules against sharing information about the sport, such as tendencies of players and referees that game officials are privy to. Specific referees are reputed to allow more physical play than others, which can affect score differentials and totals on which bets are placed.

Referees are barred from revealing their schedule of assigned games to anyone but immediate family members. Even teams are not informed of the officiating crew until they walk into the arena hours before a game.

“Rather than directly asking referees to manipulate the outcome or score of a game, gamblers may simply seek the disclosure of confidential information that will help them place a successful bet,” the pamphlet says.

“Bad Bets” also covers rules governing point-shaving, bribe offers and similar matters. The pamphlet specifically warns against how gambling in any way can leave a referee tempted to work with gamblers.

According to a person involved with the Donaghy case, he is being investigated for gambling on various sports, including N.B.A. games, for at least two years; agreeing to share information about the league after he fell into debt; and manipulating scores on behalf of people portraying themselves as connected to organized crime.

“The financial difficulties experienced by problem or compulsive gamblers would make affected N.B.A. referees easy targets for individuals involved in the gambling business,” the pamphlet reads.

Experts in the world of sports betting in Nevada, the only state in which wagering on sporting events is legal, said that news of a referee being under investigation did not surprise them.

“Everyone thinks of point-shaving scandals as involving players, but I’ve always felt at this point it would be a referee,” said Bryan Leonard, a professional sports bettor and handicapper in Las Vegas for 24 years. “In the N.B.A., players are making millions of dollars. They don’t need the money. What do referees make?”

According to two referees, an official of Donaghy’s experience would have made about $200,000 last season, not including money he earned by working two rounds of the playoffs, estimated at about $75,000.

Donaghy is expected to cooperate with authorities.

A one-sentence document filed in United States District Court in Brooklyn on Friday by Thomas J. Seigel, the head of the organized crime and racketeering section who is overseeing the investigation, notified the court that prosecutors planned to bring charges against a man, identified only as John Doe.

The document said that charges would come by way of criminal information rather than a grand jury indictment, a procedural move made in cases in which defendants intend to plead guilty and often when they are cooperating with authorities.

One person with knowledge of the case said the document pertained to Donaghy, who law enforcement officials have said is seeking to cooperate with prosecutors. Seigel and Donaghy’s lawyer, John F. Lauro, declined to discuss any talks Donaghy might have had with law enforcement officials.