NFL outlines measures to catch ‘suspicious’ betting activity

David Purdum, ESPN

After a rash of suspensions in 2023, the NFL has not handed out any punishments for violations of its gambling policy in more than a year, but in a landscape with widespread betting, protecting the integrity of the games remains a priority for the league.

The NFL is spotlighting its approach to combat betting-related threats ahead of the 2024 season and, for the first time, is sharing details about its team of investigators, who are on site on game days monitoring for “suspicious activity.”

Cathy Lanier, senior vice president of NFL security, told ESPN that an integrity representative is assigned to each team, a practice that began in 2018, shortly after regulated betting began spreading across the United States. The integrity representatives, who include retired FBI agents or executive-level police officers, according to the league, roam stadiums from the sidelines to the press box during games.

Lanier declined to provide specific examples of what constitutes suspicious activity but said the league’s integrity representatives are monitoring for “fair competition issues.”

“They’re looking for anything that is an anomaly, anything that stands out, anything that might raise concerns,” Lanier, a former chief of police in Washington, D.C, told ESPN.

The NFL suspended 10 players for gambling violations during a three-month span in the spring and summer of 2023. The league said it found no signs of game manipulation in any of the instances, but five players were found to have bet on the NFL, including on games involving their own team in some cases.

According to the league, every player contract has included a standard “Integrity of the Game” clause for at least the past 20 years, and the NFL gambling policy requires all personnel to “always give their best effort.” Anyone found guilty of attempted or actual game-fixing faces a permanent ban from the league.

Lanier’s team monitors betting markets before and during games, looking for dramatic odds movement, including on point spreads and player props such as the over/under on a quarterback’s passing yards. Significant shifts in the odds are relayed to the on-site integrity representatives as a warning for potential game manipulation. The integrity representatives also act as liaisons with state gaming regulators and assist in investigations regarding potential gambling policy violations.

The NFL analyzes notable odds movements and, with partners Genius Sports and U.S. Integrity, tries to determine the cause. A change in the weather forecast, an injury report or even speculation from pundits on TV or bettors on social media can make the line move. Both Genius Sports and U.S. Integrity watch over betting markets and flag unusual activity at sportsbooks.

“If the sportsbooks are moving the lines, and they’re moving pretty dramatically, is that because of any injury that’s been reported, or is there something else that’s going on that’s going to make us suspicious?” Lanier said.

Rest is here…

David Purdum, ESPN

NEW YORK — Caroline Garcia, a US Open semifinalist in 2022, on Wednesday shared some of the derogatory online messages she has received following recent losses and pointed to “unhealthy betting” as one of the reasons players are targeted on social media.

Other players echoed Garcia’s lament, including defending champion Coco Gauff, who said: “You could be having a good day, and then somebody will literally tell you, ‘Oh, go kill yourself.’ You’re, like, ‘OK, thanks.'”

Garcia, a 30-year-old from France who has been ranked as high as No. 4, was seeded 28th at Flushing Meadows but was eliminated by Renata Zarazúa 6-1, 6-4 in the first round Tuesday. Zarazúa is ranked 92nd and is making her US Open debut.

Garcia, in a lengthy post on X, wrote about the “hundreds” of such messages directed her way and offered examples of “just a few,” including one telling her she should consider suicide and another that read, “I hope your mom dies soon.”

“And now, being 30 years old, although they still hurt, because at the end of the day, I’m just a normal girl working really hard and trying my best, I have tools and have done work to protect myself from this hate. But still, this is not OK,” Garcia wrote. “It really worries me when I think about younger players coming up, that have to go through this. People that still haven’t yet developed fully as a human and that really might be affected by this hate.”