The head of the commission investigating alleged online sports gambling violations by athletes at the University of Iowa and Iowa State said Monday night there’s no evidence of any suspicious gambling activity.
Officials with the Hawkeyes and Cyclones confirmed earlier Monday that dozens of athletes are under investigation. Iowa issued a statement that 26 athletes in football, men’s basketball, baseball, men’s track and field and wrestling, are being investigated by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
Iowa State confirmed that at least 15 athletes, including football players, are under investigation.
Brian Ohorilko, director of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission that is investigating the issue, told Action Network that officials have not found anything suspicious.
“One of the things we review is the types of wagers that come in and how suspicious they are,” Ohorilko said. “We have no reason to believe that there’s anything like that here.
“There wasn’t anything giving us pause or leading us to believe that any of these markets were compromised.”
Rumors about gambling had swirled around the Iowa athletic program for days. The Des Moines Register reported four baseball players were not in uniform on May 2 for a series against Ohio State.
So the first update on the investigation is good news, that there is no evidence of any serious charges such as point shaving or sharing inside information. However, both the NCAA and the schools could still issue their own penalties to the athletes.
The NCAA prohibits athletes from betting on sports at any level, in any way. For example, college lacrosse players cannot join NFL fantasy football leagues that include payouts.
The Alabama Crimson Tide recently fired baseball coach Brad Bohannon over allegations he shared information with a bettor.
