The partnership aims to maintain sports betting integrity at the collegiate level. USI CEO and co-founder Matthew Holt revealed that they are committed to delivering the highest standard for integrity.
“At the collegiate level, integrity monitoring and education are of utmost importance. This partnership covers all fronts of maintaining and monitoring sports betting integrity. U.S. Integrity is a proud partner of the University of Illinois DIA,” said Holt.
“We’re looking forward to working with the team at the University of Illinois. We’re committed to delivering the highest integrity standards.”
USI provides monitoring services through its specialized dashboard as part of the partnership. The dashboard will analyze various data sets and identify irregular patterns related to contests, officiating, and betting.
The monitoring will help USI to detect any potential signs of misconduct or manipulation that could undermine the fairness of sports betting.
University of Illinois assistant athletic director Evan Taylor said it would help them to protect the students’ activities in sports betting in IL.
“We’re very excited to partner with U.S. Integrity, as we share a common goal to protect University of Illinois student athletes and our athletics program,”
– Evan Taylor, Illinois assistant athletic director.Taylor continued to say, “The commitment and proactive approach between the U.S. Integrity and our staff will allow us to stay ahead of the curve in an evolving climate where monitoring and education are at the forefront of our efforts.”
In addition, DIA will participate in a new initiative developed by USI and Odds On Compliance called ProhiBet. The initiative will help the monitoring by giving transparency for sports betting, including sports properties, sportsbook operators in Illinois (among other states), and state regulators.
This initiative will identify and track prohibited bettors who attempt to bet. It will also ensure that the betting ecosystem remains compliant with regulations.
Safeguarding Sports Betting
This partnership follows the increase of sports betting in the United States, specifically in North America.
Since the overturning of PASPA by the Supreme Court in 2018, legal sports wagers have exceeded $220 billion.
To ensure the integrity of sports betting, companies like USI emerged to monitor and regulate the activity. They are crucial in maintaining fair play, preventing fraud, and identifying suspicious activities within the industry.
Many companies have now launched applications and hired integrity analysts to monitor sports betting. These tools will monitor sports betting activities from individuals, including athletes. When they log into the apps, their location will be visible to integrity analysts.
The integrity analysts can determine their exact location with only a small error. For example, if an NFL player logs into the app while at a team facility — which is against NFL regulations — they can be identified and caught.
The integrity analysts will receive an alert if any activity appears suspicious or nefarious. This proactive approach helps them to address potential fraud, point-shaving, or game-fixing.
This method has proven to work after catching numerous athletes who violated the regulations.
Five NFL players in 2023 were suspended from six games to an entire season by the NFL for violating the NFL Policy on Gambling. The integrity analysts caught them betting on non-NFL games at their team facilities.
Besides professional players, 41 Iowa and Iowa State college athletes were investigated due to sports betting violations. Meanwhile, Indianapolis Colts’ cornerback Isaiah Rodgers also got caught making approximately 100 bets on NFL games ranging from $25 to $50.
Ultimately, Holt maintains that these monitoring measures have helped and will continue to catch more violators in sports betting.
