This story was first published in the Nov. 21 edition of the West Side Story under the name “All bets are on.”
In 2018, the Supreme Court opened the playing field to legalized sports betting, striking down a federal ban on sports betting in Murphy v. NCAA. The ruling gave states — and eventually, smartphones — access to an industry that generated over $120 billion in legal wagers, or bets placed on sporting events, in 2023. Since then, the NCAA has recorded 175 violations of its betting policy by players and staff, from small wagers on professional games to athletes gambling on their own teams.
The effects of this ruling also changed the game for Iowa. In 2023, more than a dozen current and former student-athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University were involved in a statewide sports-wagering investigation. One notable case was the State of Iowa v. Ahron Ulis, a now former Hawkeye basketball player accused of placing over 1,850 online bets on the popular betting app FanDuel, totaling $34,800. Over 740 of these wagers were made before turning 21, the legal age for betting in Iowa, and at least one of these bets was on a University of Iowa sporting event.
Cases like these — where athletes faced harsh penalties for betting, such as multi-game suspensions or permanent ineligibility — are becoming a thing of the past as a new NCAA policy takes effect. As of Nov. 1, Division I, II and III age-eligible student-athletes are now allowed to wager on professional sports, yet betting on college games, including their own, remains strictly prohibited. While this policy opens a legal avenue for betting, schools and athletic programs — including the University of Iowa — are focusing on educating athletes about responsible wagering while maintaining the integrity of competition. Andy Banse, the University of Iowa’s Associate Athletics Director for Athletics Compliance, understands the risk that athletes are faced with due to the new policy.
“Although sports wagering might seem cool — you see it on TV all the time, and it’s very prevalent in our society — [it] can cause real harm to your life and the lives of others, so you need to be incredibly cautious,” Banse said.
At the same time, Banse understands that treating college athletes like their peers places fairer expectations on them.
“[Allowing professional betting] moves us toward treating our athletes similarly to their peers, because they are college students,” Banse said. “That’s a positive thing, but we could see some athletes who are wagering on professional sports as well, [who] might end up losing a significant amount of money, [leaving] a negative impact on their lives.”
Following the sports wagering investigation in 2023, the University of Iowa’s compliance office, where Banse works, has increased education on NCAA gambling rules and potential consequences. The department has worked with Integrity Compliance 360, a technology platform that monitors college athletes for gambling, to educate athletes on the risks of sports betting. From this partnership, Banse has learned more about the potential risks of sports betting.
“We’ve had outside speakers come over and speak to our student-athletes about the potential harm from sports wagering. We’ve had some really impactful stories,” Banse said. “One person was a financial advisor who got addicted to sports wagering, and then he started to steal from his clients and got thrown in jail.”
This growth has also affected sports viewership, with 67% of NFL and 57% NBA fans admitting to watching more sports when betting on games, according to Variety Intelligence Platform. While legalizing sports betting has boosted viewership, it has also created new problems for players. Bettors often place bets on elements aside from a game’s result. These wagers, called proposition bets, often hinge on specific play results, including player performance. Banse has seen how these bets can lead to harmful interactions for college athletes.
“We’ve seen, at [the University of] Iowa and across the country, occasional wagers harass student-athletes and coaches based on their performance,” Banse said. “There are those specific player proposition bets that have led to additional negative outcomes for the athletes.”
In March 2025, the NCAA launched a sports betting video as part of its Draw the Line campaign, focused on preventing the harassment of college-level athletes and staff for their performance. Despite these efforts, the legalization of sports betting across numerous states has created an environment where athletes face risks of abuse and threats.
In addition to the college level, local high school athletic directors are watching sports betting’s cultural effects unfold. West High Athletic Director BJ Mayer has noticed gambling becoming more visible among youth. Though he steers clear of wagering himself, he acknowledges its rising popularity will be a boon to the sports industry.
“It gives sports a different meaning for some people, which can be good and bad,” Mayer said. “More people are watching now. That increases the revenue for the colleges and [sports industry].”
Despite this, Mayer also warns that the same enthusiasm fueling sports betting could threaten the game’s integrity, a concern recently reflected at the national level.
“Too many times, you see one person being [injured], which makes a huge difference in a game, and if certain people know that, that’s an advantage,” Mayer said. “Staying away from college [betting] is good because there are many things that can go wrong.”
Mayer pointed to past point-shaving scandals in college basketball, where players were paid to miss shots and alter the outcome. A recent NCAA case from September 2025 dealt with such an incident, and the organization revoked the eligibility of three Division I men’s basketball athletes, two from Fresno State and one from San Jose State. In their investigation, they found that two of the three students purposefully changed their performances to influence the outcomes of bets, while the third provided insider information for betting. As online betting platforms grow more accessible, Mayer has noticed advertisements appearing more often and targeting younger fans.
“Different apps get you in by [advertising]: put in $5 and you’ll get an extra $200 in bets,” Mayer said. “That’s a way they pull people in.”
The allure of low risk, high reward appears to be working. A 2021 survey by the National Council on Problem Gambling found that approximately 60% of American high school students had gambled for money in the past year. A University of California, Los Angeles study also linked the expansion of online betting to a 25% to 30% rise in bankruptcy rates over four years in states that legalized it.
Mayer worries how aggressive betting advertisements could influence students, noting the importance of youth education on sports betting’s risks.
“These companies are really trying to get kids [and] young people into this,” Mayer said. “They know that if they can get them involved, they’re going to make money. Very rarely do you see people [who] gamble hit big — usually, it’s the other way. I know there are some cases where somebody won a million dollars on a big bet, but you also wonder how much they’ve lost.”
If individuals choose to bet, Mayer reminds them that businesses rely on customers losing money over time, and betting is no different.
“Sports gambling is a business,” Mayer said. “Businesses don’t stay in business if they’re not making money, and if they’re making money, then somebody’s losing.”
