The Wyoming Gaming Commission has amended its sports betting regulations to allow for banning bettors who harass athletes.
Potential Wyoming sports betting bans hinge on new language that defines bettor-on-athlete harassment as “verbal threats, written threats, electronic threats, lewd or obscene statements or images,” and more.
The move came this past week and is a response to the rise in threats athletes have received from bettors via social media and other channels over the past few years.
Harassment can now lead to Wyoming sports betting ban
There are two key developments in Wyoming sports betting regulations as a result of the WGC’s amendment. First, it clearly defines what harassment is. Second, it stipulates that any bettor who is found to have harassed an athlete may be put on the WGC’s involuntary self-exclusion list, effectively banning that person from placing sports bets within Wyoming’s borders.
When asked if there was any data or understanding of the scope of bettors harassing athletes’ families, WGC Vice President Paul Covell said that while the data about threats to family members isn’t extensive, “it’s concerning enough that we should do something about it.”
The WGC executive director also noted that the NCAA and the University of Wyoming reviewed the harassment amendments and were in favor of the changes.
NCAA studying athlete harassment
US sports betting exploded following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to repeal the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, effectively opening the floodgates of sports betting.
Since then, more than 30 states have legalized some form of sports betting, including Wyoming.
Along the way, examples have arisen of bettors threatening athletes for performances that negatively impacted the bettors’ wagers.
A recent analysis by the NCAA and Signify found that, of 1.3 million posts and comments that targeted student-athletes on social media, 5,000 were abusive, discriminatory, or threatening.
Among the study’s findings were the following:
- 18% of all abusive content was sexual in nature.
- 12% of all abusive content was related to sports betting, with sports betting harassment increasing as betting markets increased.
- 10% of abuse was racist.
- 9% of abuse was homophobic or transphobic.
Additionally, the study found that “women’s basketball student-athletes received approximately three times more threats than men’s basketball student-athletes.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement that the abuse was “alarming and completely unacceptable.
“Fans have to do better, social media companies have to do more to identify and remove this content, and we all need reminders about responsible social media usage,” Baker said. “Student-athletes come to college hoping to fulfill their athletic and academic dreams, and our job at the NCAA is to provide them with the most fulfilling experience possible. We will exhaust all options to reduce the harassment and vitriol student-athletes are experiencing too often today.”
