Officials in several states are reportedly investigating suspicious betting activity ahead of a college football game between UNLV and New Mexico. (Image: Shutterstock.com)
Suspicious behavior
A college football game involving the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of New Mexico is under investigation in multiple states due to suspicious betting activity. UNLV won the November 4 game, 56-14.
The Rebels were 10.5-point favorites about a week before the game, with the gap expanding to 16.5 points at kickoff after a flurry of betting. Four of UNLV’s first five scores came after errors by New Mexico players.
an independent integrity monitoring service has issued an alert
An independent integrity monitoring service issued an alert in the hours before the start of the game regarding suspicious betting activity. A major American bookmaker initially observed this irregular trend. Action Network reported that creating new accounts just to place bets on the game was one of the red flags.
No obvious signs of match-fixing
The game in question was not highly publicized, so the large sums of money people were placing into it aroused suspicion. A typical no-name college football game can have a betting amount of up to $20,000 with a given sportsbook.
THE Las Vegas Review Journal reported last month that a bettor bet $200,000 on UNLV to beat a 13-point spread against New Mexico. This netted him a profit of $181,000 thanks to the Bellagio sportsbook BetMGM. Mirage Sportsbook Director Scott Shelton remarked that this was the biggest UNLV bet he had ever seen.
did not notice anything suspicious in their players’ performances
New Mexico athletic director Eddie Nuñez confirmed that US Integrity informed him of the betting activity a week after the competition. He immediately informed his staff of the matter and none of them were aware of any potential wrongdoing. They also did not notice anything suspicious in their players’ performance despite the heavy defeat. Nuñez fired the team’s head coach following a poor season, but he maintained the decision was unrelated to the betting investigation.
Concerns About College Gambling
One of the big talking points since the end of the federal ban on sports betting in the United States has been the protection of college sports. These games are big business even though the majority of players are not properly paid. This could increase the temptation for players to engage in match-fixing.
UNLV finished the year with a winning record for the first time since 2013 and will face Kansas in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix on December 26.
The NCAA has worked hard to ensure that no issues related to betting arise. Despite these efforts, there have been numerous scandals in the world of college sports over the past year. Alabama fired his head baseball coach after giving information about the injury status of his expected starting pitcher before a game to someone who then attempted to place a six-figure bet on the game. Many Iowa college athletes also were investigated for betting violations.
