NCAA student-athletes in North Carolina are receiving gambling education and awareness training from EPIC Risk Management prior to the launch of legalized NC sports betting on March 11.
Last week, EPIC visited North Carolina State University for eight one-hour sessions over a two-day span. EPIC has already visited the University of North Carolina, Duke University and Wake Forest University for NC sports betting education sessions.
Larger programs such as football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball (prior to March Madness) get their own sessions. Smaller programs do so as a group.
NC sports betting sessions at a glance
Mark Potter, head of delivery at EPIC, said the company is now in its third year of delivering its NCAA athlete gambling education and awareness training program.
“While we’re never going to stand in a room and advocate that you should do this, because the advice would be, ‘Look, during your college career this is a very risky thing, and you should avoid it.’ But we’re talking the whole of their future lives, and at some point most people are likely to have a relationship with this in some capacity,” Potter told LSR in a recent interview.
“So this is about understanding the risks, the do’s, the don’ts, the things to look out for, how to look after yourself, how to look after your colleagues and teammates, and go from there.
“With some of the things that they’re allowed to do, it’s just making sure that there’s some sensibility in it. That they’re doing it for fun or enjoyment. And it’s not to try to make money or escape from things that are going on. It’s not impacting their mental health or how they’re living as college students and student-athletes.”
NC sports betting topics for discussion
Potter listed topics that are discussed with athletes. some of whom are of legal gambling age:
- Reviewing the rules of what you can and cannot bet to maintain eligibility
- Being cognizant of on-campus conversations you’re having around campus (avoiding the sharing of team news, injuries or lineup information)
- How having a poor relationship with gambling can lead to making poor decisions surrounding integrity
- Why college athletes are more susceptible to gambling harm than the general population
- Managing threats and abuse on social media
- Understanding signs of vulnerability in your teammates and colleagues
- The impact of NIL
- Looking at real-life examples and current events
“They’re going into this blind in many ways, not knowing what it means and what’s going to happen and how it’s going to change. So we just give them as much information as we can, and then just be present in terms of any questions or advice they need,” Potter said.
What questions college athletes ask
Potter listed a few commonly asked questions by student-athletes:
- What am I allowed to bet on and not bet on anymore?
- How do I manage having to have a social media presence because of NIL, and the knowledge to have to deal with a load of abuse in my DMs?
- When my college career ends, if I don’t go pro, how do I maintain and work through all of the competitive drivers that I still have when my eligibility is over?
- When I know another person that is struggling, how do I approach them and what do I say?
Discussion of recent events
There has been plenty of recent news surrounding NCAA betting scandals. In January, former Louisiana State University wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was arrested on charges involving illegal sports betting.
Ohio just banned college player props. The Iowa sports betting case against former Iowa State University players was dismissed.
“The LSU situation is a perfect example of what he did while at college, now significantly impacting his professional career (with the New England Patriots,)” Potter said. “So the decisions you make – and let’s be honest, if somebody is having (nearly) 9,000 bets and the majority of them are on football, and he will have sat through rules meeting knowing what he can and can’t do – would suggest that his mindset, moral compass and decision-making is not what it needs to be.
“So why is that? We’ll cover that in every way. Ultimately, the general consensus is, do not let this be the thing that impacts your career in a negative way.”
