Abuse by “angry sports bettors” is one of the most common types of harassment college athletes receive, accounting for at least 12% of abuse posted publicly on social media, according to a new analysis conducted on behalf of the NCAA. .
The NCAA partnered with data science company Signify Group, which analyzed the social media accounts of more than 3,000 college athletes, approximately 500 coaches, 200 event officials and 165 teams during the 2024 College Football Playoff, the men's and women's basketball, men's and women's College World. Volleyball and gymnastics series and championships.
The NCAA, which will release full results on Thursday, released a sports betting excerpt to ESPN on Tuesday.
The study defined “angry sports bettors” as individuals who “engage in problematic and intrusive communications due to match events and outcomes that contradict the bettors' predictions.” Athletes received abusive messages before, after and during events. According to the study, sexual abuse, racism and homophobia were among other categories of common harassment. Signify analysts found some abusive posts that did not openly mention that gambling still had links to betting.
The analysis detected 743 abusive or threatening messages that referenced accusations of betting or match-fixing, and 73% of them occurred during March Madness, the most popular event among American bettors. Female athletes received approximately 59% more abusive messages than male athletes, according to the analysis.
The problem occurred even in sports that are less popular with players, including softball, where 24% of reported abusive messages came from angry bettors.
The NCAA emphasized that the analysis covered only public threats, not private messages, where Signify executives say the harassment is likely worst.
Signify's research into social media bullying in global sports found that angry sports bettors generate up to 45% of all abuse around some major sports tournaments.
The NCAA shared a handful of examples of abusive messages sent during March Madness, including one directed at a high-profile men's basketball player before a tournament game that said, “It's not a big deal, but if you don't get 22 points and 12 rebounds Everyone you know and love will be dead.” Other examples included requests for money.
“It's also clear to us… as the prevalence of sports betting has increased, so has the prevalence of sports betting-related abuse,” Clint Hangebrauck, the NCAA's chief enterprise risk officer, told ESPN.
Eighteen of the 38 states that offer legal sports betting, as well as the District of Columbia, prohibit licensed sportsbooks from offering college sports betting, a ban the NCAA supports. According to Hangebrauck, gaming regulators in states with such bans have reported fewer harassment problems.
“I don't want to draw too many conclusions from this,” he said, “but it seems like it's having a positive effect.”
Signify used artificial intelligence to flag potentially abusive social media posts that tagged athletes, coaches, teams and officials on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. The company's data scientists reviewed the posts and flagged those that met the criteria for harassment or abuse. Some were considered serious enough to be referred to authorities, the company said.
