Data analyst and reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise and Investigative Unit.
Winner, 2014 Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award; finalist, 2012 IRE broadcast award; winner, 2011 Gannett Foundation Award for Innovation in Watchdog Journalism; Emmy nominated, 2009.
Shwetha Surendran is writer in ESPN’s investigative and enterprise unit.
May 18, 2024, 08:41 AM ET
THE SPREAD OF sports betting poses new legal risks for college athletes in states where gambling is allowed, but an ESPN analysis has found that most university athletic departments in those states typically don’t address the new legal pitfalls.
Using public records requested by the Student Press Law Center, ESPN reviewed sports-betting policies at 24 Power 5 public universities in states that had mobile sports betting by the end of 2023 and found that only four schools had policies that explicitly warn student-athletes of potential legal consequences.
While college athletes have long faced losing NCAA eligibility for betting on sports, the legal risks are new since the advent of legalized betting six years ago. State laws now often subject athletes to greater punishment — and may even criminalize — wagering by athletes.
It isn’t clear if the universities address the potential legal consequences at in-person sessions with athletes because 21 of the 24 schools contacted by ESPN declined to comment or did not respond to multiple emails asking about their educational efforts around gambling.
The apparent lack of information in policies could leave athletes unaware that engaging in the same betting activity as their non-athlete fellow students could leave them in a legal bind. A 2023 NCAA survey of 18- to 22-year-olds found that 58% have participated in at least one sports betting activity. Six percent said they had lost more than $500 on sports betting in a single day.
University of South Dakota football player Clayton Denker, a member of the school’s student-athlete advisory committee, said the athletic department emphasized the ban on sports gambling at the beginning of the school year and stressed that violations could bring “severe consequences” and a loss of eligibility.
However, Denker said, he had no idea that betting while a college athlete could be a felony in South Dakota.
“They should lead with that,” Denker told ESPN. “If [athletes] were to understand this affects the rest of my life, not just my sport, then I think they would take it more seriously.”
The issue of regulatory and criminal consequences has become more prominent in the past two years as athletes and coaches — to whom the ban and new laws also apply — from at least five schools in three states have been criminally charged.
“It seems to me to make sense that student-athletes are educated on their various state laws,” said Mark Hicks, the NCAA’s managing director of enforcement. He added that the job is better left to individual schools than to the NCAA, although the organization would support more consistency. “As much as we can advocate for consistent practices across state lines, that’s really helpful.”
A “majority” of the responsibility for educating athletes about state law does fall on the school, said John Carns, the senior associate athletic director for compliance at the University of Louisville.
“Student-athletes are only thinking about, probably their eligibility, but there are other legal consequences to it that they’re going to fall into,” he said. “And that’s not a great way to start your adult life.”
Any criminal conviction could have long-term repercussions for student-athletes, said Julie Sommer, executive director of The Drake Group, a nonprofit that advocates for reform in college sports. A conviction would possibly have to be disclosed to future employers or graduate schools and could affect future opportunities, such as taking the bar exam, she said.
“The penalties are really severe for college athletes, [such as] loss of scholarship,” Sommer said. “And the breaking of state and federal laws, that’s something that follows them for the rest of their lives.”
IN THE 38 states with legalized sports betting, all but two specifically restrict athletes from betting on sports, according to research compiled for this story by Legal Sports Report. Six states — Kentucky, New Jersey, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia — have “clear criminal penalties” when an athlete or other prohibited person places a bet, according to the research.
Among those states, the definition of crime varies.
In Tennessee, it’s a misdemeanor for any NCAA athlete to bet on sports. Virginia’s rule is specific to bets on “any event in a league in which such a person participates.” In South Dakota, it is a felony for athletes to bet on events in which they or their teams are participating.
Some of the Iowa State and University of Iowa athletes arrested in a state police investigation last year were reported to have bet on their own teams, as did New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, according to police. Boutte was charged earlier this year with felony computer fraud and misdemeanor underage gambling while a player at LSU.
In Kentucky, it is not only illegal for athletes to bet on events in which they participate, but it is also a misdemeanor for “spouses and close family members” to wager on those events.
Kentucky men’s basketball player Brennan Canada, a member of his school’s student-athlete advisory committee, said athletic department officials told athletes at the beginning of the year that gambling violates NCAA rules and state law. But he said he was not aware of the additional provision about family. When informed by ESPN, Canada laughed and said, “I’m an only child.”
The number of NCAA investigations into prohibited and underage betting has almost doubled each year: 15 in 2021, 30 in 2022, 50 in 2023. This year’s numbers follow a similar trend, according to Hicks. At least a third of college students nationwide are under the standard legal betting age of 21, according to federal education data, and athletes are more susceptible to charges of underage gambling because they are often under greater scrutiny and subject to more reporting requirements.
Legal experts have said that athletes — in part because they know they’re not supposed to be betting — are more likely to use someone else’s account or identity to access betting apps, which could make them subject to other fraud and identity crimes.
Former Iowa State running back Jirehl Brock faced records tampering charges last year after he allegedly used a betting app under someone else’s name. The charge, an aggravated misdemeanor, was later dropped. Brock admitted to placing the bets and said it was such a common activity it just seemed acceptable. He and a few other athletes arrested in Iowa said they didn’t grasp the possible criminal consequences.
“That’s how it plays out, it’s kind of a video game on your phone that you can possibly win money with,” Brock said.
ESPN’S REVIEW OF college sports betting policies comes from documents obtained by the Student Press Law Center, which sent records requests to 27 major-conference public universities in states that allowed mobile sports wagering as of the end of 2023. The SPLC requested copies of policies pertaining to sports wagering, agreements for integrity monitoring services and reports on proven or possible suspicious behavior or violations.
Michigan and Central Florida said they had “no responsive records,” including to the request for a copy of “any policy related to sports betting for student athletes.” UCF noted there was “no separate and distinct policy — other than following NCAA rules.” Michigan’s chief compliance officer did not respond to multiple emails and calls asking for clarification. Kansas State did not respond to the request, which was sent out in December. Ohio State and Arizona never produced records, and Oregon officials noted they needed more time to process the records.
The records provided showed that written policies vary greatly across schools. Some athletic departments borrow excerpts directly from a sports wagering booklet called “Don’t Bet On It” by the National Endowment for Financial Education and the NCAA. Others list the gambling rules under subsections like “Athletic Department rules and expectations for student-athletes,” and some create school-specific policies that lean heavily on the NCAA regulations. At Rutgers, gambling is listed under “social expectations” alongside several other bullet points on drugs, alcohol, social media, hazing and sexual misconduct. Rutgers said this was a standard team rules template used by coaches.
Some schools like Virginia Tech note that disciplinary actions for sports wagering violations can also come from “local, state, and/or federal prosecution.”
Derek Gwinn, the executive associate AD who oversees compliance for Virginia Tech, said that presentations to student-athletes often include examples of high-profile cases, such as the Iowa investigation. Gwinn said that as sports betting spreads, the education provided to the athletes has been “enhanced” to include repercussions for them and their eligibility.
“We emphasized the importance because it was so readily available to them now through mobile applications and things like that,” he said. “So, we just [say] ignore all the influence, and the commercials that you see constantly, and all the ads in your Twitter feeds, and things like that. So, just remember that it’s still prohibited, per NCAA rules.”
Gwinn said student-athletes occasionally ask which sports they are allowed to bet on, but the school’s message is clear: “Avoid it entirely.”
A senior Iowa athletic department official told ESPN they also focus on preventing sports wagering rather than emphasizing the penalties. The official said athletes receive NCAA compliance training at the start of the year and receive reminders around major events such as the Super Bowl and March Madness.
Virginia Tech is also one of only four schools, according to records, that have had direct agreements with monitoring companies such as U.S. Integrity since January 2019. Sixteen schools said that they have no direct contracts with any integrity monitors, and four referenced monitoring contracts at the conference level.
Monitoring agreements can include education and consulting services. LSU’s agreement with U.S. Integrity in 2023 gave “LSU Athletics staff and athletes education on inappropriate involvement in sports betting.”
Gwinn said that Virginia Tech’s integrity monitor provides perspective on how gambling incidents occur, a sense of wagering activity on Hokies games, and additional protection for student-athletes from social media harassment.
Sommer, the Seattle sports attorney, said athletes benefit when their schools receive direct information. “The more preventative and monitoring measures you take, the greater the chance of success and catching the bad actors, reducing the harms [for] the college athletes and the student population as well the integrity of the game.”
Clint Hangebrauck, the NCAA’s managing director of enterprise risk management, said while schools do a good job of informing athletic staff and athletes about the rules, the recent high-profile cases have prompted compliance staffs to think about better ways to educate. He cited the NCAA’s partnership with international advocacy group EPIC Risk Management, which brings in former problem gamblers to speak with athletes and staff.
“I do think there’s certainly an interest in growing what that looks like because it has become so prevalent in our society,” he said. “Student-athletes are coming into college, and many have engaged in betting in some form or fashion and so it’s entrenched. It’s an ongoing conversation on how best do we educate. I would imagine it’s going to get more and more robust as we go along.”
Denker, the South Dakota football player, said sharing examples of other violations, especially criminal cases, would help athletes.
“Our athletic department makes sure that they cover every topic at the beginning of the year,” he said. “I think that there hasn’t been enough of a crackdown or enforcement across the NCAA for this to be at the forefront of policies.”
ESPN Senior writer Adam Rittenberg, ESPN researcher John Mastroberardino and Student Press Law Center legal fellow Ellen Goodrich contributed to this story.
Stuart Skinner made 33 saves in the Edmonton net to improve to 4-4 in the postseason this year, his first victory in the playoffs that wasn’t a shutout.
“We had a bit of a dip, they had a bit of push,” Nugent-Hopkins said of the Stars’ play in the second period, lauding Skinner for keeping the team in it. “He stepped up big time for us, and made some big saves. You need your goalies to do that.”
The Oilers have won two straight since their third-period collapse in Game 1 in Dallas, and improved to 10-3 in the postseason since dropping the first two games of their first-round series vs. the Los Angeles Kings.
Jason Robertson scored for the Stars, who are hoping to avoid being knocked out in the third round by the Oilers for a second consecutive season.
“They were definitely the better team in the second period,” Skinner said of the Stars. “And we kind of knew that going into the third. So, we just had to reset.”
Jake Oettinger stopped 18 shots in Dallas’ net, falling to 5-10 in his career in West final contests.
STOCKHOLM — Buffalo Sabres star forward Tage Thompson scored the winner 2:02 into overtime, and Team USA outlasted Switzerland 1-0 in the final of the ice hockey world championship at Avicii Arena on Sunday.
It is the first on-ice trophy for USA Hockey in this tournament in 92 years, after the Americans brought it home back in 1933. And it was an emotional one. As Team USA posed for its championship photo at center ice, players held up a No. 13 jersey of Johnny Gaudreau, the former NHL and USA Hockey star forward who died tragically last August when he and his brother, Matthew, were hit by an allegedly drunken and enraged driver as they cycled at night in New Jersey.
Thompson, who had 44 goals and 72 points with the Sabres this season, is hoping to polish off his resume for a spot on the U.S. roster for the 2026 Olympics, and he’s off to a great start. A Team USA reserve for the 4 Nations Face-Off in February who did not suit up, Thompson made the most of his time playing with a host of young NHL forwards who either did not make, or have been eliminated from, the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Thompson’s shot, off passes from Utah Hockey Club forward Logan Cooley and Nashville Predators defenseman Brady Skjei, flew past the blocker of Swiss goaltender Leonardo Genoni, ending a dramatic but tight title game. Team USA outshot Switzerland 40-25.
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman capped off the shutout in the final, finishing with 25 saves a year after his NHL teammate, David Pastrnak led the Czech Republic to this same title.
“We did it, the wait is over,” Swayman said in a post to USA Hockey fans on the organization’s social media platforms. “Thanks for sticking along with us. It’s going to be a great summer.”
The Americans were also formally awarded the title in 1960 when they won the Olympic tournament and the worlds did not take place. But they hadn’t won it on the ice in more than nine decades.
The Swiss played without injured star center Nico Hischier, the captain of the New Jersey Devils. After the loss, Genoni was named the tournament’s MVP.
Earlier Sunday, Sweden defeated Denmark 6-2 in the bronze medal game. Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund and Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Johansson scored two goals each for the hosts, marking the second-straight third-place finish for Sweden. The fourth-place result was the best-ever finish for Denmark.
While fans in Edmonton and Dallas are always singing about how they have friends in low places, only one of them has the high ground in the Western Conference finals. And that’s the Oilers after their 6-1 win Sunday in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.
With the series tied heading into Sunday, the objective for Game 3 was to gain a firm grasp of the conference finals, and the Oilers did just that by having five players with multipoint performances. As for the Stars, losing Game 3 left them trailing a series for the second time this postseason, with the only other such occurrence coming after Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
Now that the Oilers are in control of the series, what does it mean for them going forward? What must the Stars do differently ahead of Game 4 for them to return home tied rather than a game away from elimination? Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski examine those questions while delving into what lies ahead for two teams that not only faced each other in the conference finals last season but between them have been involved in every conference final since 2020.
Edmonton Oilers Grade: A
Much could change between now and whenever the playoffs end. But for now, the argument could be made that this was the most important playoff game the Oilers have had this postseason.
The Oilers have had numerous strong performances, such as Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round or their final two games against the Vegas Golden Knights in the conference semifinals. But what made the Oilers’ performance in Game 3 against Dallas arguably their most important was that they found a balance between being difficult in the defensive zone while not relying on a shutout to accomplish that objective.
The Stars finished with 37 shots, 13 high-danger chances in 5-on-5 play and scored only once. Connor McDavid has repeatedly stressed that the Oilers can play defense, and that has been made clear over their past five games. But Sunday proved they didn’t need Stuart Skinner or their defensive structure to blank an opponent to win. — Ryan S. Clark
Dallas Stars Grade: C+
The final score doesn’t reflect the majority of this game, which Dallas coach Pete DeBoer can mine for positives among the many (many) negatives and some mitigating circumstances. Having Roope Hintz warm up but not be able to go because of the foot injury he suffered from a Darnell Nurse slash in Game 2? That’s deflating. Having the on-ice officials miss a delay of game call on Brett Kulak in the first period only to have Evan Bouchard open the scoring 10 seconds later? Also deflating.
So it’s to the Stars’ credit that they got to their game at 5-on-5 in Game 3 better than they have in any game of the series, at least before Edmonton ran up the score in the third. The results weren’t there and a loss is a loss — and a loss by this margin is difficult to stomach — but their second period and the performances from some of their slumbering depth players give the Stars at least a glimmer.
However, there’s no question Edmonton has this thing in well in-hand and the Stars have to find a way to solve Skinner, which is not something I thought I’d be writing at this stage of the postseason. — Greg Wyshynski
Three Stars of Game 3
Two goals and an assist for his seventh career multigoal playoff game. Hyman’s second goal was the Oilers’ fourth off the rush, the most in one game by any team this postseason. Hyman also was plus-5 Sunday.
Bouchard scored his sixth goal of the postseason and these two were on the ice for the first two Edmonton goals. At 5-on-5 this postseason, the Oilers are outscoring their opponents 7-1, and 5-0 in this series, when Bouchard and Kulak are on the ice.
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0:48
Connor McDavid restores Oilers’ 2-goal lead
Connor McDavid finds the back of the net to restore the Oilers’ two-goal lead vs. the Stars.
3. Connor McDavid C, Oilers
For all the talk about the lack of goals from the best hockey player in the world (which was odd because he had 20 points in 13 games and was a plus-7 entering Game 3 despite having only three goals), McDavid punched out a pair of tucks for his sixth career multigoal playoff game. Also, seeing McDavid with the puck barreling toward the net on a 3-on-1 is nightmare fuel for opponents. — Arda Ćcal
Players to watch in Game 4
Zach Hyman LW, Oilers
To go from 16 goals last postseason to just three goals entering Game 3 of the conference finals is one way to assess Hyman. Another is to realize that he’s been the most physical player on a team that is among the tallest and heaviest in the NHL.
Hyman came into Game 3 leading the NHL with 99 hits. He remained physical Sunday by leading the way with six hits in a game that saw the Oilers continue their punishing style with 47. But to then see Hyman score two goals and finish with three points in addition to that physicality? It once again adds to the narrative that the Oilers might not only have more dimensions than last year’s team, they could be better than the team that finished Stanley Cup runner-up in 2024. — Clark
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Zach Hyman’s 2nd goal puts Oilers up 4
Zach Hyman taps home his second goal of the game to put the Oilers up 5-1 vs. the Stars.
This is the first two-game losing streak for the Dallas goaltender in the playoffs. A lot of what happened in Game 3 wasn’t necessarily on him — a Connor McDavid beauty and a Zach Hyman breakaway were among the Edmonton tallies — but outside of the third period of Game 1, he’s not been a difference-maker in this series. Oettinger came into the game leading the playoffs with 5.58 goals saved above expected, according to Stathletes. The Stars have been able to depend on him as a slump-breaker. But this is his third game with a save percentage south of .900 in the series. As the Stars try to build on some positives from this game, they need Otter to provide the foundation for it — and in the process, silence those “U.S. backup!” chants from the Oilers fans. — Wyshynski
Big questions for Game 4
Are the Oilers about to do to the Stars what they did to the Golden Knights?
Simply put, the Oilers are where hope goes to die. Teams in a championship window that have yet to win a title are always being judged on their evolution. What the Oilers did to the Stars a year ago in the conference finals by winning the last three games showed that they could close out a series after trailing. This postseason Edmonton has shown a calculated and methodical coldness when it comes to putting away opponents.
The Golden Knights won Game 3 on a last-second goal to create the belief they may have found an opening. They didn’t score again for the rest of the playoffs after being in the top five of goals per game throughout the regular season. Breaking out for six goals to open the series seemed to be a sign the Stars may have found an opening. Since then? They’ve scored only once in the last six periods while facing questions about what’s happened to another team that went from being in the top five in goals per game in the regular season. — Clark
Can Dallas make Edmonton uncomfortable at all?
Our colleague Mark Messier made this point between periods of Game 3: The Stars have yet to do anything to get McDavid or Leon Draisaitl off their games. That extends to the rest of the Oilers. Outside of an anomalous run of three power-play goals in the third period of Game 1, there have been precious few instances of the Stars carrying play for long stretches or putting a scare into Edmonton at 5-on-5.
They had that for a bit in Game 3 with a dominant second period: plus-14 in shot attempts, plus-11 in scoring chances and a 10-1 advantage in high-danger shot attempts. But they were digging out of a 2-0 hole, only managed to get one goal of their own on the board and then McDavid stuck a dagger in them with 19 seconds left in the second.
The Stars need a lead. They need zone time. They need to get their rush game going: Skinner had a .897 save percentage on shots off the rush entering the game. Edmonton is playing with a champion’s confidence. Dallas has to find a way to inject a little doubt into its opponent or this series is going to end quickly. — Wyshynski