Sports betting is a major issue in 2023. As more states legalize the practice, the adverse effects are becoming more and more clear. Earlier this week, seven current and former players at Iowa and Iowa State were criminally charged in relation to sports betting violations. This includes Hunter Drekkers, Iowa State's projected QB1 for the 2023 season. The Iowa Racing and Gambling Commission has stated that they do not believe any match-fixing occurred. However, the scope of the investigation is huge. The seven athletes are believed to have placed more than 5000 wagers totaling more than $100,000 between January 2021 and May 2023.
The effects of this massive scandal are being felt 800 miles in Louisiana. While no players from LSU have been implicated in the scandal, football coach Brian Kelly is worried about the impact of sports betting. "I'm not saying that happened. I'm not saying that would happen," Kelly said. "I think it's better to be proactive in those situations and take away even the temptation to even have that in this building and not be that next school that goes down that path." Kelly's announcement concerned a hypothetical situation where sports bettors harassed team staff for inside information. Furthermore, Kelly is implementing a new protocol to keep his team safe.
LSU Amends Injury Protocol
To minimize the information available to sports bettors, LSU is introducing a new injury reporting protocol in 2023. Team injuries will be reported twice a week in a system that is more similar to that of the NFL. "I thought it was important given the nature of what's going on today out there relative to reporting and gaming," Kelly said. "We wanted to make sure that we were transparent with injuries. Not putting any pressure on anybody here to guess who's in, who's out" for a given game. When we get to Saturday, if somebody is doubtful, we'll give you 'available,' or 'unavailable,'" Kelly said.
This new policy also comes alongside new team rules. LSU will mandate that no staff or players have gambling apps installed on their phones. "There shouldn't be any of those (apps) on any of our players' phones or anyone in this building," Kelly said. Furthermore, Kelly dismissed the idea that he was sacrificing a tactical advantage by being more open about his team's injuries. "I can't tell you how many times we didn't know a particular quarterback was playing. You've got to adjust on the fly," Kelly said. "I don't want it to be a situation where it causes something to the point where somebody loses their job or somebody loses eligibility," Kelly added. "I mean, that's a bigger issue than, well, we got a tactical advantage today because we found out he was playing."
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