NFL Joins With Group For Responsible Gaming Among College Athletes, Students
Tuesday, June 10, 2025 at 03:25PM By Barry Janoff
UPDATED June 10, 2025: The NCAA has released the summary analysis from this year's Div. I men's and women's basketball study, which monitored public comments targeting the online profiles of student-athletes, coaches, officials and committee members associated with the Men's and Women's Championships.
In December 2023, the NCAA began working with Signify Group — using its Threat Matrix service powered by artificial intelligence — to investigate online harassment in college sports.
More than 1 million posts and comments across Twitter (X), Instagram and TikTok that mentioned players, teams, officials and stakeholders involved in March Madness were analyzed. Of the 54,096 posts and comments flagged by Signify AI for potential abuse or threat, 3,161 were confirmed as abusive or threatening by Signify human analysts.
In 2024, Signify found that 42% of social media abuse during March Madness directly targeted student-athletes.
Following a multi-media PSA campaign launched during 2025 Men's and Women's March Madness, this number decreased to 15%.
(See full story here.)
June 4, 2025: Seeking to balance its legal numerous sports wagering alliances with a responsible gaming platform, the NFL has unveiled a partnership with the International Center for Responsible Gaming to “address growing concerns around gambling behaviors among college athletes and students.”
The NFL Foundation will contribute $600,000 over three years to support “independent, peer-reviewed research being led by the ICRG that aims to explore the prevalence, risk factors, and impacts of gambling behaviors in these populations.”
According to the NFL and ICRG, “While initial studies have indicated that college athletes may be at higher risk for gambling problems, there remains a lack of comprehensive, current data on how college populations interact with online sports betting platforms.”
“We’re proud to partner with the ICRG to advance research that can drive meaningful solutions and address a critical gap in the understanding of gambling behaviors among college athletes and students,” Anna Isaacson, NFL svp-social responsibility, said via the league.
“This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to promoting responsible gambling and fostering a safe and supportive environment for athletes, fans, and communities.”
The ICRG partnership builds on the NFL’s ongoing efforts to promote responsible gambling, complementing existing initiatives with such organizations as the National Council on Problem Gambling and the Responsible Gambling Council.
Through these partnerships, the NFL said it “continues to demonstrate its commitment to addressing emerging challenges in the ever-evolving sports betting landscape and to providing fans, athletes and communities with the tools and resources they need to engage responsibly.”
“The NFL has once again demonstrated its commitment to player and fan protection by supporting this critical research targeting young adults,” Arthur Paikowsky, ICRG president, said via the organization.
“The NFL and ICRG together will make a meaningful contribution to understanding and implementing policies and programs that support a safer gambling environment.”
The NFL initiate follows a campaign unveiled by the NCAA this past March aimed toward college athletes and students, “You can lose. But don’t be a loser,” as part of its umbrella “Draw the Line” platform,
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The focus of the NCAA’s multi-media PSA effort was to “call attention to the alarming prevalence of abuse and harassment student-athletes face from angry fans who lost a bet.”
Prop bets can be especially detrimental because they usually involve specific student-athletes.
According to the NCAA, “With sports betting legal in more than 39 states and more than half of college-age students reporting having bet on sports at least once in the previous year, it's clear that sports betting has become a part of how fans consume sports.
“However, it also creates a serious threat to the well-being of our student-athletes and to the integrity of NCAA competition.”
Currently, 38 states and Washington DC offer legal gaming options; Missouri is legal, but not yet operational, according to the American Gaming Assn.
The American Gaming Assn. said commercial gaming revenue reached an annual record of $71.92 billion in 2024, including a record nationwide sports betting revenue of $13.71 billion.
Stating that “No single event unites sports fans like the Super Bowl, and that excitement extends to sports betting,” the American Gaming Assn. estimated that people in the U.S. legally wagered a record $1.39 billion on Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, “highlighting the continued expansion and enthusiasm around the legal sports betting market.”
While substantial, the $1.39 billion figure is overshadowed by estimates from previous years, when the American Gaming Assn. also included in its total estimate a plethora of options other than “legal” available to Super Bowl wagerers, with such unregulated options as bookmakers and wagers among friends, family and co-workers.
For Super Bowl LVIII, the American Gaming Assn. estimated that 68 million adults in the U.S. wagered $23.1 billion across legal and non-regulated options.
“The Super Bowl LIX estimate includes legal wagers only in U.S. legal jurisdictions,” according to the American Gaming Assn.
The NFL-ICRG initiative will “empower independent researchers to explore a wide range of topics with the goal of informing data-driven prevention strategies, education, and policies aimed at reducing gambling-related harm. Grant applications will be peer-reviewed prior to the selection of the final recipient by the ICRG Independent Scientific Advisory Board.
In addition, the NFL said it would fund an update to the ICRG’s “Talking with Children About Gambling” educational resources to equip parents, coaches, and educators with practical guidance to help prevent youth gambling exposure before college. Educational materials will be widely available online and distributed to schools, community sports organizations, and youth programs nationwide.
This past February, the International Center for Responsible Gaming relocated from Boston to Las Vegas “in the midst of overseeing 42 studies and managing a record $3.84 million in contributions.”
Launched in 1996, the ICRG said it has helped individuals and families affected by gambling disorders with a mission to “prevent the onset of gambling problems through high-quality scientific research and evidence-based educational programming.”
“The organization works to impact public policy, strengthen responsible-gambling efforts, and improve the health and well-being of the communities affected by the industry," according to Paikowsky.
NCAA Targets Betting-Related Harassment Of Student-Athletes
People In U.S. Will Legally Wager $1.39B On Super Bowl LIX
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