NCAA escalates efforts on responsible gambling as college basketball controversies persist
The NCAA men’s basketball tournament ended on Monday night (7 April) with a scintillating comeback by the University of Florida, which erased a 12-point second-half deficit to edge Houston in the national title game. NCAA Responsible Gambling College
In the past, the Cougars’ defeat may have provided famed bettor Jim McIngvale with nagging indigestion, due to the Houston furniture store owner’s affinity for placing seven-figure bets backing the Cougars. Last year, the entrepreneur stood to make $15 million (£11.7 million/€13.6 million) if Kelvin Sampson’s team cut down the nets. In the run-up to this year’s Final Four, though, no large bet from McIngvale was publicised.
As part of an initiative to promote responsible gambling, the NCAA has urged bettors to gamble within their means. Throughout March Madness, the NCAA promoted its “Draw the Line” educational campaign about gambling risks by both airing ads and using a courtside stanchion at the Final Four. The effort comes amid a litany of scandals in the domestic sports betting space, including those in pro and college basketball. Over the last several months, a handful of schools have become ensnared in a federal investigation in connection with an illicit betting ring. The Final Four ended in San Antonio without a major breakthrough in the case.
Last month, the NCAA held the East Regional in Newark, New Jersey, one of the first states to legalise sports betting after the 2018 PASPA ruling. Unlike most jurisdictions, New Jersey prohibits bettors from placing wagers on college events inside state lines. Hours before tip-off, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) issued a cease-and-desist order against a pair of prediction markets, Kalshi and Robinhood, that have expanded their options to include outcomes of sporting events. One day later, Robinhood’s New Jersey website removed markets on college basketball before a 28 March deadline.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the 2025 Naismith Player of the Year, displayed his ability in Newark, where he led his school to the Final Four for the second time in four years. In the regular season, Flagg guided the Blue Devils to a pair of victories over archrival North Carolina. At last December’s congressional hearing on sports betting, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois informed a packed crowd of a troubling anecdote involving former Tar Heels player Armando Bacot. In last year’s Round of 32 matchup against Michigan State, Bacot scored 18 points and pulled down eight boards in an 85-69 win. Despite the victory, the brawny centre still received around 100 angry messages on social media for his failure to hit the “over” on his rebound total.
Prior to a Sweet 16 matchup against Arizona, Flagg said that several of his Duke teammates have been subjected to similarly vengeful DMs from bettors on social media. “We just kind of see it and laugh at it,” Flagg said in response to a question from iGB. Flagg, the putative No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, ended the season with averages of 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. But even Flagg can have a down game; he missed the “over” on his total in Duke’s win over Alabama when he scored 16 points.
Grant Nelson, another NBA prospect from Alabama, echoed Flagg’s sentiments. Despite heavy wagering on college basketball around the country, Nelson indicated that his team largely ignores anything related to sports betting, focusing instead on their performance on the court. In response to the wave of angry messages, NCAA president Charlie Baker described the level of bettor harassment of athletes as “absolutely unacceptable.” Baker has urged states with legal sports betting to ban props on college athletes, stating, “These actions severely threaten student-athlete mental health and well-being while harming the college athletics environment.” NCAA Responsible Gambling College
In January, federal law enforcement authorities apprehended a Las Vegas man before he could board a flight at Harry Reid International Airport. The individual, Shane Hennen, was placed under arrest as he attempted to travel to Colombia via Panama. Hennen, a professional poker player, helped orchestrate an enterprise that conducted illicit financial transactions and fraudulent sports wagers “totalling millions of dollars,” according to court documents. The ring is under investigation for a point-shaving scandal that Sports Illustrated described as potentially one of the “most pervasive” in North American sports history.
In 2024, sports betting integrity firm IC360 received several reports on unusual offshore betting patterns around Temple basketball games. One, in particular, a 7 March tilt against UAB, drew suspicion due to rapid line fluctuations, which is a marker for irregular activity. By last November, the probe widened, covering at least six Division I programmes, according to a source with direct knowledge of the investigation. Other games in question involved several mid-major programmes, including Eastern Michigan, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley State, ESPN reported.
The ring in which Hennen is implicated is also allegedly connected to a separate case involving former Toronto Raptors centre Jontay Porter, who is awaiting sentencing on conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Last July, Porter admitted in Brooklyn federal court to deliberately underperforming in several statistical categories to manipulate a series of betting outcomes. The NBA banned Porter for life, as commissioner Adam Silver described his transgression as the “cardinal sin” in sports integrity. Hennen was the sixth individual arrested in the operation. On 26 March, US magistrate judge Robert Levy signed an order granting a continuance in Hennen’s case. The continuance through 25 May gives attorneys additional time to complete a possible plea negotiation, according to court filings.
Kevin Young, a former assistant with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, just completed his first season at BYU. In Newark during his school’s appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Young described a strict environment in the NBA where league officials spend hours educating players on the consequences associated with disseminating inside information that may be used for gambling purposes. While BYU is not required to disclose its starting lineup until minutes before tip-off, the NBA has more stringent protocols on injuries, with teams compelled to reveal their inactive lists much earlier. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised that college isn’t more that way,” he said.
Utah, where BYU is located, is one of just 12 states without legal sports wagering. Nevertheless, Young emphasised that the programme does its best to inform its players on the protocols around gambling and to ensure that they are “playing by the rules.” BYU fell to Alabama 113-88 in the Sweet 16. In the nightcap, Duke also hit the century mark in a 100-93 win over Arizona. NCAA Responsible Gambling College
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On the national and institutional level, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd believes efforts to educate players on the pitfalls of gambling have been sufficient. Of the recent sports betting scandals in general, Lloyd stated, “There are some sick people out there who are taking advantage of those kids.” Legislators in North Carolina filed a bill on Tuesday that aims to ban prop bets on college athletes. To date, 18 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted bans on player props.
According to an American Gaming Association study released before March Madness, bettors were projected to wager approximately $3.1 billion combined on this year’s NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. At last year’s Sweet 16, Illinois coach Brad Underwood mused that he doesn’t want to see a day when bettors will wager on the team that wins the opening tip. Lloyd also expressed concern at the volume of harassment levied toward players by enraged bettors. “I don’t want them getting crushed for a free throw that caused the point spread to go one way or the other,” he stressed. NCAA Responsible Gambling College
