Hey Husker Nation!
Sports betting is everywhere—your friends, family, and classmates are placing bets, ads are impossible to miss, and there's a lot of chatter on social media.
While betting might seem like fun and attract more fans, it brings pressures and risks for husker student-athletes. Sports betting can impact their eligibility, brand, mental health, finances, and future.
Remember, student-athletes shouldn't be bothered by fans or students about betting. Their priority is to play their best, not to worry about making sure you win. Let them play without added pressure.
Student Athletes Combat Sports Betting Issues
The rise in sports betting introduces unique challenges for college athletics. Bets on specific player performances (prop bets) have led to targeted harassment of student-athletes and athletics personnel by bettors. The September 2023 survey revealed that 10% of Division I campus administrators were aware of student-athletes being harassed online or in person by individuals with gambling interests.
If you have a friend who is a student-athlete, please don't jeopardize that friendship for the allure and rush of betting. Student-athletes already face immense pressure to perform at the highest level, especially at the University of Nebraska. If you are a true friend, you wouldn't exploit that friendship to place a bet.
By doing so, you not only put yourself at risk but also endanger the student-athlete's eligibility. It's simply not worth it. Just don't go there!
Protecting Our Student-Athletes: The University of Nebraska is committed to upholding the NCAA's standards and protecting our student-athletes from the adverse effects of sports betting. By staying informed and adhering to NCAA regulations, we can ensure a safer and more equitable environment for everyone involved in college athletics.
Reducing risk
What can be done to prevent sports betting from interfering with the merits and integrity of college athletics?
Recently, the NCAA announced a plan to advocate for changes to state laws and regulations on sports betting to better address problem gambling, protect student athletes from coercion and harassment to fix results, and ensure the integrity of collegiate sports competitions. The following seem like appropriate steps for relevant stakeholders to take:
- States that allow mobile sports betting could uniformly set age limits to 21 (see Kentucky, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and Wyoming, where 18 is the age limit).
- The states that allow for mobile DFS could uniformly set age limits to 21 (see Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and Massachusetts — the only states to have done so).
- States should consider other measures to limit the ability of college athletes to engage in sports betting or limit the impact if they do (e.g., prohibiting college sports prop bets in sports betting or DFS).
- States might also consider the NCAA recommendations for enforcement (e.g., adopting penalties for anyone who harasses or coerces any student athlete in connection with sports betting).
- All stakeholders (i.e., NCAA, conferences, and schools) should rely on and promote the development of enhanced data analytics and monitoring programs that can help identify the participants in illegal activity and their locations.
- All those same stakeholders should implement, or upgrade existing, educational and support services and programs for student athletes, to fully inform them about the risks of sports betting in relation to their lives, well-being, and standing as student athletes.
Israel, J. L., & Bondoc, E. V. (2024, April 5). The kids are not alright: Student athletes and the impact of legalized betting on college sports. Foley & Lardner LLP. https://www.foley.com/insights/publications/2024/04/student-athletes-impact-legalized-betting-college-sports/
If you or someone you care about needs help with a sports betting problem, use our free, confidential helpline. You can call 1-833-BETOVER (238-6837) or text 402-806-7344. The Nebraska Problem Gamblers Assistance Program (NPGAP) provides support services to Nebraskans and their family members.