Conference USA has become the latest college sports competition to partner with U.S. Integrity in wake of recent gambling-related scandals.
The ongoing scandal engulfing Iowa State has seen a total of 12 athletes for wagering breaches. Players and a member of staff were found to have placed bets when underage through account sharing, and in more severe cases, found to have wagered on themselves or teams in which they are involved.
The high-profile case has seen a myriad of reactions. The Iowa sports betting regulator has proposed reform to rules. The Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission has sought to amend the rules to strictly prohibit account sharing and shored up language on underage gambling. Tulane University, Louisiana has made all peripheral staff sign nondisclosure agreements to prevent the sharing of insider information that may be used to gain a betting advantage.
The Big 12, prior to Conference USA, was the most recent league to partner with U.S. Integrity. The Conference USA partnership is almost identical in nature, as the NCAA Division I conference will benefit from the company’s sports wagering monitoring service and regulatory compliance software Conference USA is home to 9 schools, including Jacksonville State, Florida. Florida sports betting is not yet permitted as the Seminole Tribe continues its ongoing battle with West Flagler.
U.S. Integrity will conduct integrity analysis to spot irregularities in contests, officiating and wagering patterns. The dashboard will then be provided to make decisions around the integrity of the league. Furthermore, training will be provided for student-athletes, coaches, staff and officials.
Conference Commissioner Judy MacLeod stated: “This partnership is very important for us as we work to navigate the sports betting landscape. With all of the uncertainty in the gambling space in college athletics, USI provides peace of mind that we are doing our part to manage any illegal activity that may compromise the games being played while providing an essential role in educating and protecting our campus administrators, coaches, student-athletes and officials.”
Matthew Holt, U.S. Integrity’s CEO and Co-Founder added: “We are thrilled to be working with Conference USA, as wagering on their events continues to rapidly grow across the regulated sports betting market. The core values of our partnership will provide their student-athletes with educational training services and ProhiBet’s state-of-the-art encrypted data transfer system.”