Epic Risk Management has confirmed that it will continue working with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to offer its gambling harm awareness programme to University of Michigan students.
The programme, which is supported by Entain Foundation US, focuses on the risks that come from sports betting, especially when considering that a lot of the landscape is undergoing new legislation.
The talks were led by Mark Potter, Epic Risk Management Head of Delivery, who shared his personal experiences of dealing with gambling harm.
Potter spoke to approximately 170 individuals during his two-day visit to the University of Michigan.
He explained: “We cover how and why athletes are more likely statistically to suffer from gambling-related harm than the general population and the reasons behind that – competitive nature, sporting knowledge, injury, escapism, buzz replication… all of the reasons why athletes are statistically and evidentially more likely to suffer from harm.”
“We also cover the impacts of sports betting integrity and the obvious links between the two, and the other knock-on impacts such as social media abuse and where to identify harm in colleagues and teammates, but also where to access support should they need that.”
The University of Michigan is one of 75 colleges that EPIC Risk Management and Entain Foundation US deliver the programme to each year.
Danielle Davison, University of Michigan Assistant Athletic Director of NCAA rules and NIL Education, said: “I think it's becoming more and more important and something that's going to continue to be at the forefront of every administrator’s mind,”
“With the growing popularity of sports betting and the legalization across different states and the access to student-athletes these days, it's definitely been a key component of our educational efforts. Ultimately we want to protect the integrity of the sport.”
