The NCAA has revealed the findings of a survey of campus compliance directors on various sports betting facets across the year.
The NCAA reported that 27% of autonomy schools faced a sports betting issue with their athletes or staff in the last year, and a ‘similar percentage’ noted that they knew of athletes on their campus being harassed online or in person by someone interested in gambling on one of their games.
The survey also found that 95% of Division I schools and a majority of Division II and III schools are undertaking ‘some sort of sports wagering education’. Additionally, campus administrators outlined a desire to obtain additional wagering resources from the NCAA, who attest they are developing educational modules that will be available ‘this fall’.
33% of autonomy schools are engaged with integrity service providers directly, and others across Division I of NCAA leagues are gaining access through their conference office or the NCAA national office. Examples of recent integrity partnerships at college level include U.S. Integrity’s partnerships with both Big 12 and Conference U.S.A.
Charlie Baker, President of the NCAA commented: “Student-athletes are getting harassed by bettors, and billion-dollar ad campaigns are targeting young people across the country. We need all the help we can get, including from regulators and sportsbooks, to protect student-athletes and protect the integrity of the games,”
He continued: “The NCAA will use this staff survey data, as well as data from our prior sports betting activities survey of college-age respondents, to make the best tools available to help schools educate student-athletes on how and why to avoid sports betting. Clearly there is more work to do, but this survey will be a big help with all our sports betting efforts.”
Across divisions, many compliance administrators cited a desire to obtain additional wagering resources from the NCAA. The national office staff is currently developing educational modules that will become available beginning this fall.
Another resource that many schools are using is integrity monitoring services. These services alert schools to suspicious betting activity on a particular contest that could potentially indicate integrity concerns. Survey results indicated that one-third of autonomy schools are engaged with such service providers directly, and others across Division I are gaining access to such information through their conference office or the NCAA national office.
Senior compliance administrators from each Division I, II and III member school were targeted by the NCAA survey, as they bid to “better understand how the NCAA can support schools in educating student-athletes and staff members about sports wagering”. Over 500 completed the survey administered in late July and early August.
Clint Hangebrauck, Managing Director of Enterprise Risk Management at the NCAA commented: “This survey is informative as we continue to develop e-learning and other educational resources related to sports wagering, which will be rolled out to the membership later this year”.
Certain institutions have taken integrity matters into their own hands, as a consequence of the betting-related threats aforementioned. Tulane University has introduced a requirement for all coaches and athletic staff to sign a nondisclosure agreement to prevent the sharing of insider information. Louisiana State University’s coach is releasing injury updates three times every game week to keep as much information in the public eye as possible.