Online abuse tied to sports betting decreased during the 2025 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, according to NCAA data.
Overall harassment surged on the men’s side, however, particularly targeting coaches, officials, and selection committee members.
The NCAA findings, released Tuesday, are part of a wider effort to monitor, deter, and respond to online harassment as legal sports betting expands nationwide. Data science firm Signify Group tracked more than one million public comments across X/Twitter, Instagram and TikTok during March Madness, identifying over 3,000 as abusive or threatening.
“From day one, it’s been a priority to study this issue, monitor the public interactions, protect student-athletes and allow them to focus on being students and competing at the highest level,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement.
Player abuse drops amid NCAA campaign
Athletes accounted for 15% of all abuse flagged this year, a significant drop from 42% in 2024. Betting-related abuse aimed at athletes and other stakeholders also fell 23% overall, with sharper declines observed on the women’s side, according to the study.
Among women’s tournament participants, total abuse declined 83% year over year, while betting-related harassment dropped 66%, according to Signify. In contrast, the men’s side saw a 140% spike in overall harassment, even as betting-related abuse decreased 36%.
“By supporting the NCAA in demonstrating that abusers can be identified and will be reported to law enforcement — where criminal thresholds are broken — it is possible to see a deterrent effect in play,” said Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group.
The decrease coincided with the NCAA’s “Don’t Be a Loser” campaign, which aired throughout the men’s and women’s tournaments and called on fans to stop directing abuse at players, coaches and officials. The campaign is part of a broader initiative, Draw the Line, that includes integrity partnerships and betting harm education.
Coaches, officials face wave of harassment
While athlete-targeted abuse decreased, coaches, referees and administrators faced increased vitriol during the men’s tournament — much of it centered around officiating decisions and team selection.
“There was a lot in there that was directed at the NCAA committee from the outset of March Madness,” said Clint Hangebrauck, NCAA managing director of enterprise risk management. “A couple coaches’ changes that happened throughout March Madness seemed to trigger a lot of abuse, as well.”
Signify conducted 103 investigations into the accounts responsible for abusive messages, referring 10 to law enforcement. Human analysts reviewed 54,096 flagged posts, confirming 3,161 as abusive or threatening. The company also used its Threat Matrix service to shield specific athletes from harm, including Mississippi State’s Chandler Prater, who was targeted following a loss to USC.
NCAA expands oversight as betting grows
The monitoring partnership with Signify is just one part of a wider NCAA push to mitigate sports betting’s impact on college sports.
The NCAA and Genius Sports in April expanded their data licensing agreement through 2032, with new restrictions for licensed sportsbooks on bets deemed high-risk for abuse or manipulation.
The NCAA has also partnered with EPIC Global Solutions to provide betting harm education across campuses, with more than 100,000 student-athletes, coaches and administrators participating so far, the largest program of its kind globally, according to the association.
Abuse in other sports
The report comes amid a wave of attention on the impact of betting-related abuse in sports more broadly.
According to the NCAA’s own studies, roughly one in three high-profile college athletes has received harassing messages from bettors. Several schools — including Iowa, Eastern Michigan and Temple — remain under investigation for betting violations.
Last week, FanDuel banned a bettor who boasted that he heckled Olympic gold medalist Gabby Thomas before a race to win a parlay.
Signify is expected to continue monitoring abuse across other NCAA championships, and the NCAA said it plans to expand protections such as automated DM screening in the coming months.
