A major collegiate conference is adding the services of a gambling harm minimization consultant at a relevant time.
The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its partnership with EPIC Global Solutions less than a week before the March 11 launch of North Carolina sports betting to help the league navigate gaming in current and future sports betting markets.
“We are dedicated to ensuring our student-athletes and administrators are educated in this exceedingly important area,” ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said. “EPIC continues to be a leader with experts that will provide educational resources in to assist in identifying the risks that come with legalized sports wagering.”
Four ACC programs are situated in the Tar Heel State, encompassing UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, and NC State.
There are now a total of eight states within the ACC footprint that allow some sort of legal sports betting. Wagering on in-state teams is prohibited in New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia, while college player prop betting is allowed in Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida.
Among ACC schools, only Georgia and South Carolina remain without legalized sports betting.
Sending a message
EPIC helps minimize gambling harm and will provide the ACC with educating student-athletes and training team physicians, athletic trainers, dieticians, mental health professionals, strength & conditioning/sports performance, physical therapists, and sports scientists from schools across the ACC.
“This relationship furthers EPIC’s mission to minimize gambling-related harm and we’re delighted to be working with the ACC to extend the reach of this message,” EPIC Vice President of Partnership Teresa Fiore said. “With the sports wagering landscape in the U.S. constantly evolving, it’s vital that we help student-athletes and staff to make informed decisions around their relationship with gambling and also recognize signs of gambling-related harm in others where possible.”
Reaching out
EPIC is partnered with the NCAA to help approximately 75 NCAA schools become more aware of gambling harm through various programs and seminars.
Over the last three years, EPIC’s reach has extended to six ACC schools to draw on “lived experience to help individuals and organizations across high-risk sectors and the gambling industry to minimize the risks posed by gambling harm,” the organization said.
EPIC recently partnered with MLB and global sports betting gaming group Entain to educate pro players on preventing gambling harm.
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