ACC updates injury policy with betting in mind

ACC unveils new policy for injury reporting with sports betting in mind

Weeks before the opening kickoff for the 2025-26 college football season, the Atlantic Coast Conference is modifying its policy for disseminating injury reports to the public. 

Addressing reporters on the opening day of the 2025 ACC Kickoff, Commissioner Jim Phillips said the league will require schools to post injuries in football, baseball and men’s and women’s basketball. The conference will require schools to initially post the injury list two days before gameday, with further updates the next day and on the day of the contest.

The new policy is directly related to the rise in sports betting and a determined push by the conference to protect the safety of the players, Phillips noted. 

At last December’s congressional hearing on sports betting, then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin opened with an anecdote about former North Carolina center Armando Bacot. In a Round of 32 matchup against Michigan State, Bacot had 18 points and seven rebounds to lead the Tar Heels to the Sweet 16. But Bacot failed to hit a double-digit total in boards, drawing the ire of bettors on social media. Within hours, Bacot received more than 100 angry messages, according to Durbin. 

Phillips previously expressed concern about prop betting, describing it as a “runaway train” if handled improperly. The policy change, he added, is aimed at providing a check against gamblers who seek to gain an advantage from inside information. 

“There’s stresses on our student-athletes from individuals who are trying to garner information,” said Phillips at a press conference Tuesday. “Sometimes it’s pretty innocent. They just want to know because they’re a big fan. But other times it leads into the gambling and sports wagering path.”

Judge extends negotiation period for Hennen as more details emerge on Rozier bets

A federal judge in the case of the alleged ringleader in the Jontay Porter basketball betting scandal has granted another continuance to extend negotiations on a potential plea deal. 

Shane Hennen, a pro poker player, was apprehended by federal law enforcement in January as he attempted to board a one-way flight to Panama from Las Vegas. Hennen is the presumed architect of a comprehensive sports betting scheme that has resulted in the indictment of six defendants in New York.

On Tuesday, US Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo signed an order of excludable delay that extended the negotiating window for a possible guilty plea. It marked the fourth time Hennen has received a continuance since his January arrest. The order extends the window until 20 September.

Hennen brushed up against a deadline on Tuesday to reach a deal with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. 

New reports on Rozier

The ring in question is also being probed for a pattern of anomalous activity on several college basketball games, ESPN reported in February.

In addition, federal prosecutors in the district have placed Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier under investigation for suspicious patterns related to a 23 March 2023 parlay involving his statistical performance when playing for the Charlotte Hornets.  

Last week, ESPN reported that a bettor placed 30 separate wagers on a Rozier-related same-game parlay. The wagers were placed in a 46-minute span at a Biloxi, Mississippi casino.

In total, the bettor wagered nearly $14,000 on the bets, which featured a series of Unders on Rozier’s performance. The bettor won on all 30 bets.

DraftKings tops rivals in ACSI consumer survey

For the first time ever, a leading consumer survey analyzed customer sentiment of mobile sports betting apps across numerous behavioral and technological indicators. 

Respondents of the 2025 American Customer Satisfaction Index Entertainment Study placed DraftKings ahead of its main competitors when judging a slew of performance measures. The study gave DraftKings a rating of 78 points on a 100-point scale. DraftKings slightly topped BetMGM and FanDuel, which finished with ratings of 77 and 76, respectively. Three others finished close behind with Fanatics and ESPN Bet both receiving a 73 rating, ahead of Caesars, which trailed the field with a 69. 

“Customer loyalty metrics vary by brand but those that do the best job of satisfying their customers also enjoy notably higher ratings for loyalty,” the authors wrote in the study.