Texas Longhorns face scrutiny as two football players allegedly splurge over $14,000 on a fantasy sports application.
Texas Longhorns Football in Hot Water
The Texas Longhorns are under the scanner after the University's Athletics Department self-reported a number of individuals playing daily fantasy sports - a big no-no in the NCAA world. The media first reported that five people, including two unconfirmed football players, a student assistant, and one person linked with the women's tennis program, invested around $15,000 on the PrizePicks app.
NCAA rules strictly prohibit athletes, coaches, and staff members from engaging with such platforms, primarily due to game integrity concerns. This application may be legal in Texas, but it's off-limits for the mentioned group.
Two of the offenders were football players. Upon discovering the issue, the school assured that one player donated his winnings to charity, while the other, who gambled $9,600, left the program and is receiving help for gambling addiction. The fans, naturally nosey, speculated about the identity of the departing player on social media during the offseason.
The other three people not affiliated with sports included a student assistant who had rashly placed bets on games featuring his own team. He lost his job due to the reckless move.
Recent years have seen a spree of similar violations from various colleges. In fact, the NCAA acknowledged approximately 100 self-reported violations last year. The University of Texas discovered these breaches through the ProhiBet service, which compares online gambling site registrations with the personal data of individuals associated with sports programs.
This incident highlights the continuous challenges faced by the NCAA in enforcing compliance among member institutions as the landscape of legalized sports betting evolves. The organization has been taking steps such as forming partnerships to monitor postseason integrity and advocating for state bans on college player prop bets to minimize risks.
- The Texas Longhorns are dealing with a gambling addiction issue as one of their players gambled $9,600, left the program, and is seeking help.
- The gamblers involved in the Texas Longhorns' daily fantasy sports scandal, which includes two unconfirmed football players, a student assistant, and one person linked with the women's tennis program, invested around $15,000 on the PrizePicks app.
- NCAA rules prohibit athletes, coaches, and staff members from engaging with platforms like PrizePicks due to concerns about game integrity.
- The gamblers, including a student assistant who placed bets on games featuring his own team, were caught through the ProhiBet service, a tool used by the University of Texas to monitor online gambling activities.
