As sports betting continues to expand across the country – it’s currently legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia – revenue increases. According to the American Gaming Association, revenue from legal sports wagering reached $10.92 billion in 2023.

But as sports betting has become more prevalent, so has the vitriol directed toward athletes.

“I think this is one of the things that’s really surprised us over the last couple years, is we’ve really seen an outcry from our student-athletes just around the levels of harassment that they’re facing,” said NCAA Managing Director of Enterprise Risk Management Clint Hangebrauck Friday during the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States panel session “NCLGS Dives Into the NCAA Pool” at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh. “A lot of this is coming through social media, but certainly some of it happens to athletes in person.”

In addition to being subjected to harassment from bettors, student athletes may also be tempted to wager on games. Todd Sandstedt, a sports consultant and former FBI supervisory special agent, says the student-athlete population has intrinsic vulnerabilities with sports betting that must be acknowledged.

“We want to make sure that we’re protecting the integrity of the game and are educating our students about policies that are available through NCAA rules and regulations,” Sandstedt said. “And the NCAA and their people do a good job with this.”

Sandstedt added that in addition to student-athletes, athletic department coaches and staff need to be well-versed in any restrictions regarding sports betting. He also said fans bear responsibility for any comments they make disparaging athletes.

“It’s making sure that our fans know some of the rules and restrictions and how they can affect the student athletes they support, and drawing the line and making sure that folks don’t cross that area of harassment,” Sandstedt said. “We’ve seen a lot of examples of that … It’s really great to see some of the innovative efforts that a lot of universities are making.”

Tres York, the American Gaming Association’s Senior Director, Government Affairs, touched on one of the organization’s main concerns: the ongoing presence of illegal, offshore betting sites.

“When you have a legal regulated market, which in this country is still very young, one of the positives … is the visibility it gives both the industry, regulators, the NCAA member institutions and law enforcement when necessary, to look for not only the various betting patterns that could raise integrity issues but also on the harassment side, to operate something with a particular person,” York said.

York also mentioned the work being done by IC360, an integrity monitoring company, and its tool ProhiBet that’s used by numerous NCAA institutions to ensure that coaches, players, and staff “to make sure, as much as we can, that people who are on prohibited from betting can’t bet.”

SeventySix Capital Managing Partner Wayne Kimmel emphasized that while sports betting should be fun, it’s also important that it is secure and safe. That’s part of the reason why SeventySix Capital has invested in IC360.

“So, with companies like IC360, we’ve been investors from the beginning, really helping these companies help the leagues, the teams, the conferences, the NCAA, anyone and everyone to make sure we can keep it on the up and up across sports,” Kimmel said.

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