SECAUCUS, NJ – A sports integrity monitor launched a tool Thursday that will help athletes, coaches and staff anonymously report suspicions about gambling activity to regulators and law enforcement.
The tip hotline “Athlete Alert Powered by Real Responses” was announced by US Integrity, a sports data integrity company, as a role in its ongoing investigation of possible wrongdoing involving the University of Alabama baseball team.
Earlier this month, Matthew Holt, president of US Integrity, said the operators of a sportsbook located at Cincinnati Reds stadium alerted his company to “unusual activity.” US Integrity alerted state gambling regulators, and Ohio officials launched an investigation.
Alabama fired its baseball coach last week amid an investigation into questionable betting involving the Crimson Tide game at LSU.
The tip hotline launched by both companies allows athletes, coaches and others to anonymously report integrity-related concerns such as abuse of insider information, match-fixing, game manipulation or illegal betting.
The suggestions will go to regulators who can verify them and refer the matter to law enforcement, the companies said in a statement.
“Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of the professional and student athletes who have dedicated their lives to competing at the highest level, and it is our job to help protect that paradigm,” Holt said. The hotline enables concerned athletes and others to “stay one step ahead of any bad actors.
Texting 843-USI-TIPS “protects and enhances the integrity and correctness of contests while ensuring their anonymity and security,” said David Chadwick, founder and CEO of Real Response.
The hotline comes as more than 40 athletes in Iowa and the state of Iowa could face discipline from both law enforcement and the NCAA for placing untraceable online bets.
Earlier this week, Iowa and the state of Iowa acknowledged they are cooperating with local gaming regulators, both law enforcement and the NCAA, after an investigation into gambling activities revealed possible participation by athletes in multiple sports.
In the Alabama case, no athlete is suspected of involvement. In the Iowa case, some Hawkeyes baseball players have already been ruled out of competition, which is routine when a school believes an athlete’s eligibility may have been compromised.
The Iowa director of gaming told The Associated Press earlier this week that there is no evidence of match-fixing or suspicious betting activity at games involving the Hawkeyes or the Cyclones.
