SEC to require mandatory sports gambling education for all athletes

ATLANTA — Southeastern Conference officials announced Wednesday that all SEC student athletes will be required to complete sports gambling education training before competing during the 2026-27 athletic season.

The conference unveiled a new mandatory educational video as part of an expanded integrity initiative aimed at protecting student-athletes and preserving the integrity of competition amid the rapid growth of legalized sports betting nationwide.

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Under the policy, every SEC student athlete must view the custom-designed gambling education video before participating in their team’s first regular season game of the upcoming academic year.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said the conference is prioritizing education and monitoring efforts as sports gambling becomes more widespread across college athletics.

“The rise in sports gambling, including some recent well-documented incidents among college and professional athletics, as well as developments around prediction markets, makes this a high-priority initiative for the Southeastern Conference,” Sankey said in a statement.

The conference said the new educational program builds on integrity measures already implemented over the last several years through its partnership with integrity monitoring company IC360.

Those measures include the use of ProhiBet, a real-time monitoring platform launched in 2023 to track prohibited sports betting activity, along with athlete availability reporting requirements introduced in football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball in 2024.

The SEC also established a sports gambling tip line earlier this year, allowing athletes and other stakeholders to anonymously report suspicious gambling-related activity.

Conference officials cited recent national surveys showing that roughly 58% of people ages 18 to 22 have participated in sports betting, with participation rates increasing among students living on college campuses.

According to the SEC, approximately $12 billion was wagered during the 2025-26 academic year on games involving at least one SEC team through state-regulated sportsbooks and prediction markets.

Officials said the mandatory training will become part of annual compliance education at each SEC institution and will focus on identifying gambling risks, understanding NCAA and conference policies and learning how to report concerns.