Men’s and women’s college basketball players believe sports betting negatively affects their perception of their sport and its athletes, according to a new NCAA study.
Key Takeaways
- Nearly two-thirds of respondents believe betting abuse compromises the spirit of sports.
- Nearly one in five student-athletes who experienced abuse said they lost some love for their sport.
- Betting-related abuse declined 22% year-over-year during March Madness 2025.
A total of 7,493 student-athletes from 163 Division I schools participated in a brief survey between Feb. 23 and March 2. The findings were revealed last week in a Student-Athlete Needs, Aspirations and Perspectives Survey published by NCAA Research and Teamworks.
Fifty-two percent of respondents indicated U.S. sports betting prompted unfair scrutiny of student-athletes. This largely occurs when teams or players either greatly underperform relative to expectations or when mistakes directly affect the outcome of betting events. Fifty-five percent ultimately said that undermines the fairness of the sport.
Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said the spirit of comepetition is compromised when they are targeted for their performances. Sixty-two percent also said betting-related abuse reduces trust between fans and athletes.
Student-athletes, specifically men, have grown familiar with the ugly side of sports wagering. Forty-eight percent of college basketball players said they have received online, verbal, or physical abuse, while 33% reported receiving direct blame for bettors’ losses.
Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account“This time of year can be magical for so many players, but it also can quickly become a nightmare due to abuse from fans engaging in sports betting,” NCAA president Charlie Baker said in a statement. “The NCAA is actively working to protect college athletes by monitoring abuse through our collaborations with Signify and Venmo, and we are doing everything we can to prevent student-athletes from experiencing this type of abuse. But sportsbooks and regulators in some states can do more now by eliminating the prop bets we know are leading to harassment.”
Student-athletes feeling effects
According to the survey, 18% of players who experienced sports betting abuse said they no longer enjoy their sports as they once did. Fourteen percent also attributed stress, anxiety, or burnout to the abuse they endured.
Another 14% of those who experienced abuse claimed to have experienced less confidence in their ability to perform. Thirteen percent said they experienced reduced focus during practice or competition, and 11% reported an ability to perform at their highest level. All of that comes despite 84% of student-athletes stating they were unaware of betting odds related to their games or events.
While student-athletes might try to avoid harassment, they often stumble into it.
Sixty percent of those who were polled said they spent at least three hours on social media daily, and 95% said they checked their social media accounts after competitions. That makes it easy for them to read negative, harmful, and abusive messages about themselves based on their performances.
Progress despite setbacks
The NCAA has taken a hands-on approach to dealing with the growth of sports betting. Baker has campaigned for states to remove player prop bets from their catalog of approved betting markets for sportsbooks, and earlier this month, he wrote to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission regarding prop bets and the lack of safeguards at popular prediction platforms.
Efforts proved fruitful last year, when a study by Signify Group found student-athlete harassment declined by 22% year over year during March Madness.
However, not all states heeded Baker’s warning and removed player prop bets. Most recently, Washington expanded its player prop offerings earlier this month.
