5BTC or 111% + 111 Free Spins!
New players only. Exclusive 111% Welcome Bonus + 111 Free Spins
A new NCAA study paints a stark picture of how sports betting pressures are reaching college athletes, especially men basketball players. Survey results show that betting-related harassment has become common on social media and even on campus, with student-athletes reporting frequent contact from bettors.
Good to Know
The NCAA gathered responses from 6,800 Division I athletes, focusing on sophomores and above. According to the results, 7 percent of all men athletes experienced negative or threatening messages from bettors over the last year. Harassment levels were highest in men basketball, where 36 percent reported social media abuse tied to betting outcomes. Another 29 percent said they had direct interactions with students who placed wagers on their team.
Former Butler player Pierre Brooks II described the situation plainly after an EPIC Global Solutions session last fall:
“That happens all the time. I got one from a previous game. They do it all the time. Like, if people do not meet their over or under, they always DM me. It is actually pretty common.”
Across all sports, almost 10 percent of participants said at least one student told them they won or lost money on a game involving their school. Football Bowl Subdivision athletes also reported high levels of contact, with 16 percent receiving negative or threatening messages linked to bets. Another 26 percent said they dealt with comments from fellow students about wagers placed on their team.
Women sports showed a very different pattern, with only 1 percent reporting these interactions.
The survey ran from September 30 to October 5 through a mobile app. Student-athletes answered questions about performance tech, SAAC resources, sports betting fan behavior, and mental well-being. The study arrived during a sensitive time for college athletics, with the NCAA investigating a gambling case involving nearly 30 men basketball players. A former New Orleans athlete recently admitted he shaved points to support his child, adding more urgency to integrity concerns.
The NCAA has warned repeatedly that college player props fuel aggressive behavior toward athletes. In 2024, NCAA president Charlie Baker urged lawmakers and regulators to ban individual over or under markets for stats such as points or rebounds. Only a small number of legal betting states acted on the request, and more than a dozen still permit college player props.
Daily fantasy sports operates in more than 40 states, including many that do not have legal sports wagering, which creates another pathway for bettors to engage with college statistics.
Baker continued to press the issue in the latest study release:
“States and gaming operators that continue to offer these bets are putting student-athletes and competition integrity at risk. The NCAA runs the largest integrity monitoring program in the country, and we educate hundreds of thousands of student-athletes about the damages of sports betting, but regulators, lawmakers, and gaming operators can and should do more.”
Men basketball players reported the highest levels by far, with more than one third facing abuse related to betting.
They report hostile messages on social media and face comments from students who place bets on their games.
The NCAA believes prop markets encourage bettors to target individual athletes instead of teams.
Only a few states responded to the NCAA request to prohibit those markets.