NCAA reveals surprise March Madness online abuse statistics

Sports betting-induced abuse at players online is reported down, according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and research partner, AI company Signify. The study comes after March Madness, one of the most tense times for gamblers betting big on the variety of sports happening.

Abuse ticks up significantly during sports events. You only need to browse a social media platform for a few minutes during a big game or match to find abuse thrown in every direction. Speaking in the report, NCAA President Charlie Baker said:

“One of the first things student-athletes told me when I became NCAA president was that they were being harassed online by people who are following or betting on their games.

“From day one, it’s been a priority to study this issue, monitor the public interactions, protect student-athletes and allow them to focus on being students and competing at the highest level on the court with their teammates.”

Signify deployed its artificial intelligence-powered “Threat Matrix” to scan over a million posts and comments across different accounts on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok. The NCAA states that it tracked 2032 players, 346 coaches, 136 teams, and 269 game officials, noticing a drop of 23% in abuse virtually hurled at those involved.

54,096 posts were identified as potentially abusive, with only 3161 found to actually contain abusive content. Signify then sent 10 to law enforcement after it found the accounts spouting a disturbing amount of abuse.

Versus 2024’s March Madness, Signify found that abuse had dropped somewhat across platforms. Women’s abuse in particular saw a steep drop, with it down 83%, and “betting-related abuse” dropped to 66%.

However, men’s sports saw a jump to 140%, but betting-related messages had dipped to 36%. Overall, there was a 23% drop in abuse fired at players during the month.

It should be noted that abuse might be down overall due to the large drop in X users since Elon Musk’s takeover.

In April, the NCAA extended its partnership with Genius, which handles the official data provided to sportsbooks. However, the move aims to put a stop to some high-risk bets on platforms using the official data to discourage this type of abuse:

• Player-specific underperformance bets (e.g., fewer points, rebounds, or yards).
• Negative outcomes easily manipulated by a single athlete (e.g., fouls, missed shots).
• Bets on injuries, health events, or officiating decisions
• Bets on off-field actions (e.g., transfers, going pro)
• Novelty bets (e.g., color of Gatorade, anthem length)
• Awards decided exclusively by public vote

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