Key points:
- Student athlete harassment has been a topic of discussion in recent months
- A recent report revealed that 12% of abusive posts last year were related to sports betting and match-fixing
The Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) has signed an agreement with problem gambling consultancy Epic Global Solutions in an effort to raise awareness regarding student athlete harassment.
PAC Commissioner Joe Onderko commented, “Since sports betting became legal and so accessible online, the PAC and administrators in our conference have been searching for a way to educate our student-athletes and staff about the potential dangers of online gambling.
“This partnership with Epic Global Solutions will help provide our conference schools with the tools to help our athletes be better informed about possible issues that can be brought on by online gambling.”
Both companies will partner to “gather insights from PAC colleges to understand what additional support the institutions and their student-athletes need in order to address the issue.” As part of the agreement, Epic will provide PAC members with a gambling readiness guide that gives legalized sports betting context as well as information on the “areas of heightened risk to collegiate athletics.”
Epic VP Partnerships Mike Holinski said, “There has been plenty of recent discussion around sports wagering involving student-athletes, so this is a timely collaboration.
“We commend the PAC for taking additional steps to ensure that every individual within their competition is receiving additional information on the kind of threats they may face while competing in sports with significant public interest.”
Last fall, Signify Group published a report on student athlete harassment in collaboration with an NCCA study conducted between November 2023 and June 2024.
According to its findings, 5,000 abusive messages were reported within the six-month time frame and 72,000 messages were triggered from the 1.3 billion posts examined.
Out of the total of abuse posts detected, 12% were related to sports betting and match-fixing, the report said.
One third of all detected abuse found in the study was sexual or sexist in nature. The research also showed that one in three players received targeted abuse from angry gamblers.
