Gambling, Integrity, and Safeguarding Athlete Vulnerability: A Case Study from the NCAA + EPIC Global Solutions Partnership

Session Title

Youth Gambling: University & Athlete Programs

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation

Start Date

27-5-2026 12:00 AM

Abstract

This applied paper presents a large-scale case study of the NCAA + EPIC Global Solutions integrity and gambling-harm prevention partnership launched in 2022 and delivered to over 300 universities and groups, reaching over 100,000 student-athletes, coaches, and staff. Insights from program delivery and evaluation illustrate how athlete identity vulnerability shapes gambling motivations, escalation pathways, and help-seeking behavior, and how culture and messaging can either amplify or buffer risk. The paper also shares current concerns of harassment and online abuse from bettors, underscoring new integrity and duty-of-care challenges in legalized wagering environments. Drawing on theoretical frameworks of athlete identity, meaning-making, and performance culture, this paper illustrates how traits central to elite performance may also heighten gambling vulnerability when embedded within commercialized sport cultures characterized by high availability and peer normalization. Team culture, performance-contingent self-worth, and transitional stressors interact with gambling as mechanisms for emotion regulation and meaning restoration. The case study demonstrates how athlete-informed prevention can complement compliance-driven integrity systems by addressing vulnerability earlier and more holistically. Moreover, how to work with institutions themselves to build programs for athletes and staff where safeguarding integrity is recognized as central to performance and responsibility.

Author Bios

Dr. Meg Popovic is a global leader in gambling-harm prevention, integrity education, and culture change in elite sport. Formerly business faculty in leadership and social change, she built the first wellbeing and performance department in the NHL and now leads EPIC's North American sport education and prevention initiatives, advising teams and leagues worldwide on how identity, meaning, and performance culture shape risk and vulnerability in sport systems.

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May 27th, 12:00 AM

Gambling, Integrity, and Safeguarding Athlete Vulnerability: A Case Study from the NCAA + EPIC Global Solutions Partnership

This applied paper presents a large-scale case study of the NCAA + EPIC Global Solutions integrity and gambling-harm prevention partnership launched in 2022 and delivered to over 300 universities and groups, reaching over 100,000 student-athletes, coaches, and staff. Insights from program delivery and evaluation illustrate how athlete identity vulnerability shapes gambling motivations, escalation pathways, and help-seeking behavior, and how culture and messaging can either amplify or buffer risk. The paper also shares current concerns of harassment and online abuse from bettors, underscoring new integrity and duty-of-care challenges in legalized wagering environments. Drawing on theoretical frameworks of athlete identity, meaning-making, and performance culture, this paper illustrates how traits central to elite performance may also heighten gambling vulnerability when embedded within commercialized sport cultures characterized by high availability and peer normalization. Team culture, performance-contingent self-worth, and transitional stressors interact with gambling as mechanisms for emotion regulation and meaning restoration. The case study demonstrates how athlete-informed prevention can complement compliance-driven integrity systems by addressing vulnerability earlier and more holistically. Moreover, how to work with institutions themselves to build programs for athletes and staff where safeguarding integrity is recognized as central to performance and responsibility.