In a sweeping crackdown on gambling by student-athletes, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has charged at least 21 former and current athletes, as well as two student managers from Iowa and Iowa State, not with gambling crimes, but rather records tampering, an aggravated misdemeanor that could be punished with up to two years in prison.
The investigation was developed by using geolocation services. A technology that was initially created to scrutinize online sports betting in America to ensure that the wagering was happening in states where it is legal.
Some of the athletes were accused of wagering on games involving their own team or other teams at their schools.
One Iowa State wrestler allegedly used a DraftKings account in his mother’s name to place nearly 1,300 bets, including 25 on Iowa State sporting events.
A student who was supposed to be Iowa State’s starting quarterback this season used his mother’s DraftKings account to place more than 250 bets that totaled more than $2,700 and that one of his wagers was on an Iowa State football game while a member of the team.
The Iowa State football coach stated, “I still find it highly unusual or interesting that there are two schools, two major universities, affected in the whole country on this topic, I can’t imagine that these are the only two universities that have students gambling.”
More has to be done to monitor the activities of student-athletes, coaches, administrators, and others who have access to inside information about the teams. This will continue to be a challenge for all schools and needs to be addressed.
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