College Basketball
Game 1:
The first alert issued in this period, however, named a program that the NCAA has not mentioned --
Stony Brook. On Dec. 1, 2024, IC360 received a report from a sportsbook about unusual betting interest on
Norfolk State to cover the first-half spread against Stony Brook, the documents show.
A betting account that had been "relatively dormant" placed nine $300 bets on Norfolk State to cover the first-half spread, one sportsbook said. At another sportsbook, customers opened new betting accounts to make their first wagers for "excessive amounts" on Norfolk State, according to the documents. Additionally, betting accounts that the sportsbook believed were linked to each other continued to bet on Norfolk State, even after the line had moved to a less advantageous number. The sportsbook halted wagering on the game, the records show. Norfolk State led 34-27 at halftime, covering the spread.
Game 2:
Three weeks after the Norfolk State-Stony Brook game, a group of bettors arrived at Harrah's Gulf Coast casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, on Dec. 21, 2024, with tens of thousands of dollars. In a span of 45 minutes, the bettors placed a series of large bets on two games: $2,500 and $1,700 on
Tulsa to cover the 26-point spread against Mississippi Valley State, according to the records. Some of the bettors attempted to wager $20,000 on Tulsa but were denied. They also bet $4,000, $3,500 and $2,200 on
Wright State to cover the spread in the first half against Eastern Michigan, the records show. All the bets were easy winners.
Game 3:
In January, the suspicious wagering continued, this time against North Carolina A&T, the records show. In Mississippi, a BetMGM customer placed two big wagers on
Elon to cover the spread in the first half of a Jan. 2 game against North Carolina A&T: a $1,200 bet on Elon to cover the 3.5-point first-half spread and a $5,000 two-leg parlay on Elon -3.5 in the first half and
Tennessee State -2.5. The bettor cashed out the parlay at 9:25 p.m. ET for $5,300 after Elon covered the first-half spread while Tennessee State was trailing, according to the records. The user had only one previous wager close to that size, BetMGM noted.
Game 4:
Gamblers also targeted Eastern Michigan, beginning with the Wright State game in December. On Jan. 7, 2025, a bettor tried to place a $10,000 wager on
Toledo to cover the first-half spread against Eastern Michigan at the Fitz Casino and Hotel in northern Mississippi, according to the documents. The book allowed him to wager only $5,000, which paid out $9,348. He then went to the nearby Gold Strike Casino to make a $9,000 bet against Eastern Michigan, records show.
On the other side of the state, at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, two customers wagered $12,000 against Eastern Michigan on the first-half spread and a third put down $10,000, according to the documents. Toledo finished the first half up 46-33, covering the spread.
More Games:
The records show gamblers also bet against New Orleans in four games:
McNeese State on Dec. 28,
Vanderbilt on Dec. 30,
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Jan. 6 and
Southeastern Louisiana on Jan. 11. Four New Orleans players
were suspended from the team in late January, reportedly for alleged gambling violations.
In Mississippi, a BetMGM customer placed three wagers totaling $2,750 on McNeese State to cover the spread against New Orleans, according to the records. Previously, the patron had very few wagers on college basketball and was observed significantly raising his bet amount multiple times on McNeese State to cover, wagering $250 then $1,000 and $1,500, a BetMGM representative wrote.