The state of Alabama has fired its baseball coach. The reason was an investigation that showed he was making suspicious bets on a Crimson Tide game held at the University of Louisiana. The school’s administration did not disclose the details of Coach Bral Bohannon’s firing. It only stated that he violated the duties assigned to the university staff and demonstrated an irresponsible attitude. The scandal was the most significant scandal involving gambling in college sports since the Supreme Court paved the way for states to legalize betting on sporting events.

Identifying potential violations

“Alabama lost 8-6 to LSU in a game in which the Crimson Tide’s best starting pitcher was out late due to injury. According to a Louisiana gambling official who obtained a report from the sports integrity watchdog, two bets were placed at an Ohio bookmaker’s office located at the Cincinnati Reds stadium. U.S. Integrity President Matthew Holt said the betting operators at the bookmaker alerted his company to the suspicious activity.

Information from other states was gathered, after which U.S. Integrity reported to Ohio regulators. As a result, an investigation was launched. Sporting events around the world are being monitored for possible problems. Holt said his company sends out about 15 alerts each month to betting shops, sports leagues and organizations that are its customers. U.S. Integrity’s client list includes the Southeastern Conference, with Alabama and Louisiana.

Indiana, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have removed Alabama baseball from their rosters. Holt said that for experienced states, removing an event from the roster is the safest option when a potential problem arises.

Other scandals in college sports

There are occasional gambling scandals in college sports, including gambling violations in basketball and soccer. Alabama baseball has reportedly had no gambling violations. There is no evidence to suggest the athletes were involved.

It’s worth noting that the NFL has disqualified five players for violating the league’s gambling rules. According to Holt, the Alabama case is different from others. A videotape showed that a man who placed suspicious bets in Cincinnati on the Alabama game was communicating with Bohannon.

The nation’s largest governing body for college sports, the NCAA prohibits athletes and athletic department officials from gambling, even legally. But enforcing this prohibition is very difficult. The fact is that today, people can gamble and bet directly over the internet. Many sports are popular with bookmakers, ranging from baseball or soccer to cricket. Moreover, cricket has grown in popularity recently. The sites with reviews of bookmaker apps evidence this. The search leader iplbettingapps com in shows that betting on IPL can be done in the apps of many famous bookmakers.

One can start betting in just a few seconds, so a person can successfully hide the fact of such activity from others, especially if his name is not on the blocklist of bookmakers. Authorities and activists actively dispute the popularity of online betting, but this does not prevent the market’s growth.

Over the past few years, college sports leaders have been looking for stricter protections and ways to capitalize on gambling revenue. As Holt said, the Alabama case is an example of the benefits of legalized betting. He said regulated sports betting and market transparency are working and have succeeded in catching people committing misconduct.