The proliferation of sports betting in America is causing key stakeholders in professional and amateur sports to discuss the integrity of competition amid recent gambling scandals.
The discussion of how to protect the integrity of competition for operators, leagues, and regulators continued at SBC Summit Americas 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where a group of industry experts spoke about protecting the future of sports wagering in North America.
The panel, moderated by Princeton Global Strategies Managing Partner George Rover, included NCAA Managing Director of Enforcement and Development Mark Hicks, as well as PropSwap CEO Luke Pergande and Legacy Consulting Group CEO Tony Amormino.
How the NCAA is navigating challenging landscape
The NCAA has dealt with a series of gambling-related scandals over the past two years, leading to questions and concerns regarding the impact gambling has on amateur sports.
In 2025, more than 15 former NCAA men’s basketball players were implicated in an alleged point-shaving scandal that spanned across more than five institutions. The NCAA responded to violations of student-athletes wagering on or against their own teams, or sharing insider information, by deeming the group of players permanently ineligible.
The sanctions were handed out based on student-athletes admitting to the illicit betting activity or failing to cooperate with investigations initiated by the NCAA. The NCAA’s investigations were sparked by monitoring services detecting the suspicious wagers.
“What I talk to schools about, and what I’m most concerned about, is the day-to-day ability for student-athletes to balance everything because it’s just so easy to bet,” said Hicks. “But the good thing is we have systems like IC360’s ProhiBet program.”
The program has been integral in identifying suspicious betting activity amongst student-athletes.
Sorsby case top of mind
Most recently, the NCAA’s gambling woes reached Power Four college football.
Last month, the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) and the Indiana Gaming Commission initiated investigations into Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
The regulators are investigating Sorsby after he wagered on his own team while a member of Indiana’s football program, an OCCC spokesperson confirmed to SBC Americas.
Sorsby created multiple sportsbook and DFS accounts to wager in several states. The Texas native also sent money to other sportsbook account holders to place bets on his behalf.
“Operators do a heck of a job looking for proxy bets and they’re getting better with the process,” continued Hicks.
Sorsby would later transfer to Cincinnati in 2024, where the wagering on NCAA events continued. He spent two seasons at Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech.
US professional sports also facing integrity concerns
Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been charged with multiple crimes for their alleged role in a pitch-level market betting scheme.
The two players allegedly manipulated their pitches in several games for third-party bettors to win wagers. Clase and Ortiz also received kickback payments for their alleged pitches.
MLB and its operator partners responded to the alleged pitch-level market manipulation by imposing a $200 bet limit on the markets. A similar tactic could be deployed outside MLB.
“How easy is it for someone to alter the outcome of those bets? Extremely easy,” Pergande told SBC Summit Americas attendees. “My opinion is to have a $500 limit on college player props and a pro-level prop maximum of $2,500, because even though these athletes have made millions of dollars in their careers, they are still easily compromised.”
The ability to share insider information has caused athletes, including Clase, Ortiz and NBA free agent Terry Rozier, to find themselves embroiled in gambling-related controversies.
In the age of social media and information sharing, there is more opportunity for athletes to pass along illicit gambling-related information to third parties and co-conspirators.
“Insider information has always been out there in the last 40 years. People have always had it, but in the age of social media and technologies. It’s quicker to get access to that information. So, when you’re talking about athletes, trainers, even student managers, they have the ability to have that access,” said Amormino.
