NCAA Sees Less Betting-Related Abuse During 2025 March Madness

The NCAA has shared results from its 2025 March Madness tracking effort showing a big drop in online harassment linked to sports betting. The report indicates that abuse stemming from wagering activity decreased by 23% compared to last year, with sharp reductions observed in the women’s tournament.

Analysis of 1 Million Social Media Posts Reveals Sharp Drop in Women’s Basketball Abuse

The research, a joint effort with the data intelligence company Signify Group, examined more than one million social media posts on platforms like X (Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok. Signify’s AI tools marked over 54,000 posts to check, and human experts confirmed that more than 3,100 of these were abusive or threatening. They reported ten of the most serious cases to law enforcement.

The monitoring covered more than 2,700 accounts, including 2,032 athletes, 346 coaches, and 269 officials and committee members. Women’s basketball participants saw the biggest improvement: overall abuse fell by 83%, while harassment related to betting dropped by 66%. For men, although total abuse increased by 140%, betting-related harassment still decreased by 36%.

NCAA President Charlie Baker, who has made athlete welfare a top priority since he took office, stressed that tackling online harassment plays a key role in the NCAA’s wider integrity and mental health plans. He noted that athletes had raised concerns about online abuse, much of it linked to angry bettors, in his time as president.

“Don’t Be a Loser” Campaign Tackles Online Abuse During This Year’s Tournaments

This year’s fight against abuse featured a public awareness campaign called “Don’t Be a Loser,” which ran during the tournaments. It encouraged fans and bettors to focus their energy away from players and officials and showed how toxic online behavior affects people.

Mississippi State player Chandler Prater, who got nasty messages after her team lost to USC, got help through Signify’s Threat Matrix service. This included automatic filtering of harmful direct messages. Prater said the experience was a lot to handle, but he was thankful for the help in dealing with the harassment.

Clint Hangebrauck, who manages enterprise risk for the NCAA, said the trends look good, but there is still a lot to do. He pointed out that this year’s men’s tournament saw coaches and committee members face a flood of abuse after some teams got picked in a way that upset people, and when staff changed in the middle of the tournament.

The NCAA keeps growing its work to cut down on abuse and risks tied to gambling. They have teamed up with Genius Sports for the long haul to share data, and they are teaching people with EPIC Global Solutions. This program has already reached more than 100,000 students and staff.

Even though things are getting better, officials say leagues, tech companies, and law enforcement need to keep working together to protect college sports.