It has been a rough couple of months for the Big 12 Conference and betting with member Iowa State University square in the spotlight as a number of athletes from the program face criminal charges related to betting.
The conference is taking steps to bolster its integrity monitoring though, announcing a new partnership with US Integrity specifically to prevent student athletes and the coaching staff from participating in sports betting.
“The Big 12 Conference is thrilled to partner with U.S. Integrity as a continuation of its commitment to sports betting compliance,” said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. “Given the current landscape of sports betting in our industry, it’s more important than ever to double down on ensuring sport integrity across our conference.”
The deal will specifically involve ProhiBet, a joint venture between US Integrity and Odds on Compliance. The tech product works with educational institutions, operators, and regulators to ensure that relevant people in a collegiate athletic program are not allowed to bet.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Big 12 — the combination of ProhibBet’s state-of-the-art encrypted data transfer system and the Big 12’s dedication to upholding the integrity of sports will undoubtedly enhance the transparency and trustworthiness of collegiate sports betting activities,” said ProhiBet Managing Director Matt Heap.
Most every state with sports betting has regulations that explicitly state active athletes and coaches of sports at any level are prohibited from wagering on their sport. Additionally, the NCAA has very specific and stringent rules banning student athletes from betting on any sports whatsoever.
However, as we’ve seen in Iowa State and Iowa, there is a big difference between setting those rules and actually enforcing them. The pilot program ProhiBet is working to help address that issue.
