On September 5, 2023, Julie Sommer, Executive Director of The Drake Group Education Fund, issued the following statement via a national press release, cautioning higher education and athletics leaders to take immediate action on college athlete gambling and improper relationships between higher education institutions and the gambling industry. Sommer warned, “A tidal wave of match-fixing, corruption, and gambling addiction is about to take place in intercollegiate athletics. We call upon higher education associations, athletic conferences, and national collegiate athletics governance organizations to take immediate action. Of particular concern are inappropriate relationships between universities and bookmakers where the college administration either takes payments from the betting companies for each of their students who sign up for a gambling account (“bounties”) or places highly-visible sponsorship advertising around the campus.”
