Venmo partners with NCAA to aid in protection against student-athlete harassment
They will provide several support and educational resources.
Key Points
- A recent Signify Group study revealed 12% of abuse posts reported were related to sports betting and match-fixing
- One third of all detected abuse found in the study was sexual or sexist in nature
Recent concern over student-athlete online harassment regarding bets has inspired a partnership between Venmo and the NCAA.
The duo will work to aid in offering protection for student-athletes and help curb interactions like these. This partnership will make several resources available for students, including athlete account support, a reporting hotline and user education materials.
Venmo said in a statement, “At Venmo, our mission has always been to make it simple, safe, and fun for people to share payments and connect with one another. We know that moments of support – whether it’s sending a payment of thanks, celebrating a big win, or helping someone in need – are what make Venmo meaningful.
“We also recognize that, like any other digital platform, there can be times when that experience is misused.”
According to recent data released by Signify Group, out of the total of abuse posts detected, 12% were related to sports betting and match-fixing.
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.
The group published its latest report on student athlete harassment in collaboration with an NCCA study conducted between November 2023 and June 2024.
PayPal SVP, Head of Global Financial Crime and Customer Protection David Szuchman commented, “While unwanted interactions to athletes make up an extremely small percentage of transactions on Venmo, even a small number of these incidents is unacceptable.
“The safety and security of our users remain our highest priority. Harassment or abuse of any kind is not tolerated on the platform, and strict action is taken against users who violate our policies. Through these measures, we are taking decisive steps to help prevent the misuse of our platform and ensure all our users feel protected when they use Venmo.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker echoed this by saying, “The harassment we are seeing across various online platforms is unacceptable, and we need fans to do better. We applaud Venmo for taking action, and we need more social media companies and online platforms to do the same.
“Several states have passed laws to crack down on this behavior to protect student-athletes, and we hope more do the same because stopping this abuse requires action on multiple fronts.”
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