Entain Foundation U.S. educates athletes on gambling, has NCAA, NFLPA partnerships

From the Alabama baseball betting scandal that saw head coach Brad Bohannon fired to the NFL suspending 10 players this off-season for gambling violations, the need for sports betting education, specifically in athletics, is more paramount than ever.

Everywhere people look, turn, and watch, betting ads have become embedded in the sports experience, from live odds to games, to promotional deals from FanDuel, DraftKings, and operators alike. And while most sporting leagues have guidelines and rules surrounding sports betting, athletes can’t escape the betting boom since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PAPSA) was repealed over five years ago.

That’s why Entain Foundation U.S., founded in 2019 with ongoing partnerships with the NFLPA’s Professional Athletes Foundation, MLSPA, the NCAA among other leagues, are working vigorously to educate both collegiate student and pro athletes on sports integrity, problem gambling and much more.

“We’re really trying to be ahead of the curve and self regulating, explaining to the public, the athletes, the regulators, and the politicians,” said Bill Pascrell, III, Esq., a trustee for Entain Foundation and a Princeton Public Affairs Group partner. “It’s a proper mix of balance, of focus on integrity, the athletes, the people around the athletes, including the agents, and at the collegiate level, educating people at that, you know, 18 to 21 level before they’re able to bet.”

Led by its three trustees, which includes former New York Giants star wideout Armani Toomer, Martin Lycka, Senior VP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling at Entain along with Parscell, the organization, created by Entain PLC (has 50/50 joint venture with MGM Resorts International) and Entain Global Foundation, has a multifaceted approach to educating athletes through workshops, seminars, events and customized projects.

One of their presentation partners in this endeavor, EPIC Risk Management, based out of the United Kingdom, is comprised of former athletes who deliver the betting education, sharing powerful stories that focus on how their careers were severely affected by their gambling addiction.

These speakers can truly drive their points home by relating to their athlete audience on a personal level.

“When you see somebody who is a pro, it just kind of like makes you do two things: First, it says, I’m gonna listen to what this guy says,” Toomer, a Super Bowl winning receiver and returner, said. “And second of all, you look at the guy’s size and think he’s not that much bigger than me, so makes it more attainable.”

“The audience can relate to it, because they happen to be athletes themselves with the key message being don’t bet on your sport and if you can avoid it, don’t bet at all,” Lycka concluded.

Vulnerability on college campuses

Back when Amani Toomer entered college at the University of Michigan in 1992, the culture around sports betting was simply don’t do it, or your career was ruined. Before betting was legalized, Toomer says both the collegiate and NFL levels had a one strike, you’re out policy — making himself, his teammates and other NFL colleagues fearful of gambling at all.

That didn’t mean gambling didn’t happen on college campuses back then and even to the present day. A recent story by the Associated Press says the NCAA has identified 175 sports betting violations since 2018, with 17 active investigations ongoing currently, which includes athletes, coaches and administration placing small bets to giving inside information that could have affected the integrity of games. These recent findings likely sparked the NCAA’s governing body to revise their guidelines for reinstating athletes who committed gambling violations.

That’s where Entain Foundation comes in. The organization agreed to partnership with the NCAA in 2021, and have visited over 50 college campuses, including the University of Cincinnati in February.

“One of the most vulnerable areas, I feel, in gambling would be in collegiate sports, because they aren’t getting paid,” Toomer explained. “I just felt like it was one of those situations where going to universities, talking to student athletes, and just making them aware, would be something that I could get behind.”

“The feedback in these sessions have been extremely well received, and if anything, there are more and more colleges that are prepared to sign up to the program,” Lycka added.

Entain and EPIC have even been allowed into locker rooms at some universities, with an opportunity to have their messages and education heard in intimate settings with little to no distractions around.

The goal isn’t just to reach student-athletes though; the organization also reaches everyday students, since most shouldn’t be betting anyway considering the legal age to place a wager is 21 years old.

“A lot of times, the universities don’t want us talking to the general student body, but what we do is, we go just a little off campus,” Parscell added. “And we talk to them saying, ‘If you’re going to bet, make sure you do it legally.’”

Entering NFL locker rooms

Originally striking a deal with the NFLPA in 2020, Entain and EPIC provided virtual problem gambling awareness and player protection workshops during a restricted time in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The deal, led by Toomer who initially helped the company set up a meeting with the New York Giants in 2019 before the NFL had mandated and paid programs to curtail gambling, now allows Entain Foundation to meet the NFLPA at their offices for a series of executive leader programs after extending their partnership through 2026 in March. Entain, which pays for all of these sessions out of their own pockets, also meets with players off-site in small huddles.

What the organization wants next, though, is to gain NFL locker room access to give these presentations.

“We were told to get the NFLPA and we got them,” Pascrell said. “We met with lots of teams throughout the NFL, now we’re taking it upstairs to NFL organization in hopes that they understand and appreciate that it’s got to be more than just checking a box and throwing money at a certain organization to put a 1-800 number up, because that’s not really impacting the players.”

The NFL has increased its awareness to their gambling policy, sending memos to all 32 teams doubling down on the league’s policies and even enlisting the help of retired quarterback Tom Brady to send a message about to players about gambling on the NFL.

The biggest issue with the NFL’s recent uptick in gambling violations, all three trustees agreed, is the lack of betting education for athletes.

“I feel like the more people are aware and educated about these situations, these pitfalls, you’re less likely to fall because I think most people are not trying to maliciously get away with stuff,” Toomer continued. “I think most of the time, there is an oversight.”

Entain Foundation recently partnered with the NHL Alumni Association to educate retired players on sports betting, but is also working to expand to the NHLPA, along with the horse racing industry.