Legal sports betting is becoming a bigger and bigger concern for some of the biggest schools in college sports.
That’s according to the latest survey from the NCAA, which was filled out by 546 compliance administrators at schools from July 18 to August 1, with usable data provided by 500. The responses included 42 from so-called "autonomy" schools, which are colleges in the Power Five conferences such as the Big Ten and SEC.
It was at the bigger, more prominent colleges that sports-wagering issues were most widely reported. According to the survey, 27% of respondents from the Power Five conferences said their athletics department had dealt with a sports betting and/or problem gambling issue within the past year, double the 13% total for Division I schools overall. The 27% finding was up from 3% in a similar survey done in 2019.
The latest survey, the findings of which were released earlier this week, also found a growing number of admins are becoming more concerned about sports betting. Among Power Five respondents, 53% said they were "extremely or moderately concerned" about gambling on sports, up from 38% in 2019.
Power Five conferences had the biggest problem with users of online sports betting sites accosting athletes as well. The survey found that 25% of respondents from autonomy schools reported they were aware of student-athletes on campus who were harassed by someone with gambling interests over the past year, far more than the 10% reported for Division I as a whole.
'We need all the help we can get'
"Student-athletes are getting harassed by bettors, and billion-dollar ad campaigns are targeting young people across the country,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a press release. “We need all the help we can get, including from regulators and sportsbooks, to protect student-athletes and protect the integrity of the games.”
The NCAA is grappling with the spread of legal sports betting in the U.S. and the effect on student-athletes. This past year has seen numerous gambling-related incidents strike college sports, including a criminal investigation in Iowa, that has prompted the NCAA to invest time and money to learn more. Findings of one such survey were released earlier this year, showing event wagering is widespread on campus.
But the latest survey dug into the kind of education athletes are getting from their schools about legal sports betting, with more than 95% of respondents from DI schools reporting some form was happening at their institution.
Respondents were asked if they would likely use resources provided by the NCAA and for which topics they'd be most interested. For the Power Five, 80% of respondents said educational resources about the NCAA's sports wagering bylaws and penalties would most likely be used. Furthermore, 83% of P5 respondents said they would likely use NCAA-provided resources on dealing with "gambler harassment."
Just 34% of Power Five respondents said their school uses a sports wagering integrity service to keep an eye on their games. However, 63% noted that their conference hires integrity services on their behalf.
"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,” Baker said in the press release. “Clearly there is more work to do, but this survey will be a big help with all our sports betting efforts."
Gambling on the greens
The survey did uncover some success stories from those it polled, including that NCAA data provided deeper insight into the situation, such as "golfers showing very high levels of all gambling behaviors."
The survey also noted that “[c]ompliance staff believe that many students and coaches are learning the rules,” but are just choosing to ignore them. And while the NCAA has been finetuning its approach to student-athlete wagering penalties, there may be an appetite for further modernization.
“Many feel student buy-in is lacking because behaviors such as putting $20 into a pool are seemingly equated with the worst of the behaviors covered in NCAA bylaws,” the survey said. “A number of comments that the NCAA should modernize the wagering legislation and focus on college (not pro) sports wagering.”
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