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Sports bettors who threaten college athletes online could face consequences beyond having their messages reported or social media accounts restricted. Their behavior could also cost them access to participating sportsbooks.
The NCAA announced Oct. 29 that it had joined the Bad Actor Program, an initiative designed to help identify individuals who harass or threaten athletes, coaches and officials online and provide participating betting operators with information to take action against them.
The partnership makes the NCAA the first sports governing body to publicly announce its participation. It also expands the organization’s efforts to address harassment linked to sports betting, which has become an increasingly visible problem in college athletics.
The NCAA will work with Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360), Signify Group and other stakeholders to identify and report offenders through its existing monitoring efforts at NCAA championship events. Legal Sports Report first reported the announcement.
How the Bad Actor Program identifies abusive bettors
IC360 and Signify Group established the Bad Actor Program in June, with Fanatics Sportsbook becoming its first sportsbook partner.
The initiative combines Signify’s Threat Matrix technology with IC360’s integrity and compliance capabilities. Signify monitors social media and other online platforms for abusive, threatening or harassing messages targeting sports participants. Investigators then examine reported incidents to help identify the individuals responsible.
IC360 maintains a shared database of identified offenders through its ProhiBet Bad Actor system. Participating betting operators can use the information to identify customers associated with verified misconduct and determine whether account restrictions or permanent bans are warranted.
The system is intended to make it more difficult for abusive bettors to continue wagering through participating platforms. However, the program does not automatically ban individuals from every sportsbook. Operators must participate and take action based on the information available to them. Serious threats can also be referred to law enforcement when appropriate.
By joining the initiative, the NCAA will contribute information gathered through its existing monitoring of online harassment during championship events.
NCAA President Charlie Baker welcomed the collaboration, emphasizing the importance of protecting athletes, coaches and officials. He said the initiative reflects the need for greater cooperation across the sports betting industry, including stronger responsible gambling practices.
“Athlete harassment has no place in college sports,” Baker said, adding that the NCAA wants to work with stakeholders across the sports betting industry to address the behavior and improve accountability.
NCAA research highlights betting-related harassment
The NCAA has worked with Signify Group since 2023 to monitor online abuse targeting championship participants. Its first comprehensive study, released in October 2024, documented the scale of harassment directed at student-athletes, coaches and officials.
Signify analysts reviewed more than 72,000 messages flagged by artificial intelligence from a larger dataset of 1.3 million social media posts and comments. They verified more than 5,000 posts containing abusive, discriminatory or threatening content.
Sports betting was directly linked to 12% of the verified abuse, representing more than 740 instances. The proportion increased to 19% among messages targeting men’s basketball and football participants. The NCAA also noted that some posts classified under other categories, including racist and sexist abuse, appeared to have been influenced by sports betting.
March Madness participants received approximately 80% of the verified abuse identified in the study. Women’s basketball student-athletes received approximately three times as many threats as their male counterparts. One student-athlete received more than 1,400 abusive messages in less than two weeks.
These findings helped establish the scale of the problem and informed the NCAA’s subsequent efforts to monitor harassment and protect college sports participants.
The organization also collaborates with Venmo to identify and address betting-related threats sent through its payment platform. The partnership includes reporting assistance, account support, safety guidance for student-athletes and broader user education.
The findings reinforce the NCAA’s position that sports betting-related harassment requires cooperation between sports organizations, technology companies and wagering operators.
Professional leagues push for stronger bettor bans
The NCAA’s participation follows growing pressure from professional sports organizations to establish stronger consequences for bettors who threaten or harass sports participants.
On Sept. 15, 2026, the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and Major League Soccer, along with their respective players associations, sent a joint letter to gambling regulators in 35 states and the District of Columbia.
The organizations called for uniform rules allowing state-regulated sportsbooks and mobile betting operators to permanently revoke wagering privileges from individuals verified to have threatened or abusively harassed professional or amateur athletes, coaches, officials, team personnel or their families.
The letter highlighted concerns about bettors directing threatening messages toward sports participants, particularly after losing wagers. It also pointed to harassment occurring both online and through in-person interactions.
According to the Associated Press, Ohio, West Virginia, Louisiana and Wyoming already have mechanisms allowing authorities to exclude abusive bettors from licensed sportsbooks and mobile betting applications. The leagues and players associations are seeking similar protections in other jurisdictions to establish more consistent safeguards across the country.
The NCAA has separately advocated restrictions on college player proposition bets, arguing that wagers tied to individual performances can contribute to harassment. Its participation in the Bad Actor Program introduces another approach by focusing on identifying and holding individual offenders accountable rather than restricting specific types of wagers.
As more sports organizations and betting operators participate, the initiative could make it harder for individuals who harass athletes to continue wagering across participating platforms. Its broader effectiveness, however, will depend on operator participation and consistent action against verified offenders.
