A new report has revealed that suspicious betting on college basketball has declined in a major way from prior seasons.
Key Takeaways
- An ESPN report has revealed that suspicious betting activity on college basketball has declined significantly this season compared to the 2024 and 2025 campaigns.
- Monitoring groups and sportsbooks are also reporting fewer unusual betting alerts and major line movements.
- The NCAA has also introduced new measures ahead of March Madness to proactively prevent future incidents.
“We haven't had new, credible reports of games being compromised this season,” Jon Duncan, NCAA vice president of enforcement, told ESPN’s David Purdum.
Duncan’s comments align with sportsbook findings of a similar nature, with reports of far fewer instances of suspicious betting or enormous line movements in comparison to either of the NCAA’s prior two basketball seasons.
Those seasons notably include a major point shaving scheme that saw 20 individuals indicted in January 2026, with various former players and staff across multiple teams found to have violated sports betting policies.
Integrity Compliance 360, which monitors numerous sports betting markets, including those of college basketball, also confirmed that alerts of “unusual activity” had trended downwards year over year.
“With the rise of betting-related scandals generally across sport, stakeholder engagement around proactive risk mitigation has increased,” Scott Sadin, co-founder of IC360, told ESPN in a statement, adding that both players and schools are taking greater responsibility through initiatives like educational sessions or directly working with operators on preemptive measures.
While no specific figures have been released related to the decline in incidents, it does appear that all hands are on deck from the NCAA in an effort to provide more transparency and avoid any additional concerns during their biggest event of the year.
The NCAA is implementing mandatory player availability reports for the men’s and women’s tournaments for the first time, and is also “enhancing its approach to monitor for impermissible betting by officials.”
It’s these major steps that have Duncan believing that March Madness should largely go without a hitch, with the only drama occurring on the court.
“I feel comfortable this year's tournament, this year's games are going to be free from manipulation, free from the behaviors that would compromise the integrity of those games,” he said. “I'm hopeful that the sunlight that we were able to shine on this beginning last year deterred behavior.”
