Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) already monitors college sports and helps to prevent student-athletes, coaches and other personnel who should not be betting on college events from doing so. For this year’s March Madness, game officials will be added to that mix.
IC360 and the NCAA announced on Tuesday that the college sports body is engaging IC360’s ProhiBet solution for referees and other officials who will oversee the upcoming NCAA Division I Championships across men’s and women’s basketball, as well as baseball and softball.
ProhiBet uses an encrypted data network to prevent individuals who are prohibited from wagering – including athletes, coaches and league personnel – from placing bets. The tool will now incorporate NCAA championship officials to further enhance integrity monitoring and prevention. An IC360 spokesperson described it to SBC Americas as an expansion of the “integrity net” that the organization seeks to provide to its partners.
Several other leagues already utilize ProhiBet for officials, as well as athletes, coaches and other staff and any other league stakeholders they deem necessary. The implementation is generally consistent across different sports to ensure integrity throughout the organization, said the spokesperson. Each individual league’s requirements determine the specific categories of stakeholders monitored.
The NCAA and IC360 said the expansion for March Madness is designed to meet the unique compliance challenges posed by sports betting’s rapid expansion.
“Implementing ProhiBet is a major step in increasing integrity protections for college sports,” said NCAA Managing Director of Enforcement Mark Hicks. “This platform adds another layer to the NCAA’s robust integrity monitoring program as we work to keep competition integrity and student-athlete well-being paramount in a rapidly evolving sports betting environment.”
IC360 Co-CEO Scott Sadin added that the collaboration “sets a new industry benchmark” and reinforces the importance of proactive deterrence and detection in college sports.
Projected $4B in March Madness betting
Along with the likes of the Super Bowl, March Madness is one of the busiest times of the year for sports betting.
According to data from gambling research and consultancy firm H2 Gambling Capital, bettors across the U.S. will wager around $4bn on this year’s edition via legal and state-licensed sportsbooks alone, up from $3.7bn last year. That 2025 figure cited by H2 comfortably exceeded the $3.1bn that the American Gaming Association estimated would be wagered on the tournaments last year.
That doesn’t take into account trading on March Madness that will happen on prediction market platforms such as those operated by Kalshi, Crypto.com and Polymarket across the U.S., as well as by gaming operators like DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics in states where sports betting has not been legalized. Kalshi first launched sports event contracts last year in time for March Madness 2025.
Widespread adoption of ProhiBet
As referenced by the NCAA and IC360 release, the two organizations have worked together for several years already. Other users of the ProhiBet tool include UFC, the PGA TOUR, and numerous sports betting operators such as Caesars, Hard Rock Bet, Underdog and Betr.
IC360 also collaborates with Kalshi, employing a prediction markets-focused version of the tool called ProhiTrade.
IC360 uncovers NCAA betting problems
While ProhiBet focuses on ensuring that people who should not be betting on certain events are not, NCAA’s use of IC360’s wider monitoring solutions has had high-profile results. IC360 has helped to uncover several instances of suspected match-fixing or illicit betting within college sports.
In just one example, in January of this year, it was revealed that 26 people were accused in a point-shaving scheme that allegedly involved 39 NCAA college basketball players across 17 schools.
