The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged 20 men with illegally fixing National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball games through an alleged point-shaving scheme, leading to 29 games having been affected by match-fixing operations.
The scheme reportedly involved 39 college basketball players from 17 different NCAA Division One universities, with four of the players charged having competed in matchups within the past seven days.
Fifteen of the defendants participated in NCAA basketball activities between 2023-2025, while two of the players were previously sanctioned by the Association in November 2025 for allegedly fixing New Orleans University games.
NCAA President Charlie Baker addressed the charges in a letter issued on January 15, having said, “Protecting competition integrity is of the utmost importance for the NCAA. We are thankful for law enforcement agencies working to detect and combat integrity issues and match manipulation in college sports.
“The pattern of college basketball game integrity conduct revealed by law enforcement today is not entirely new information to the NCAA. Through helpful collaboration and with industry regulators, we have finished or have open investigations into almost all of the teams in today's indictment.”
Baker went on to state the NCAA’s enforcement staff has opened sports betting integrity investigations into approximately 40 student-athletes from 20 different schools over the past 12 months alone.
According to the investigations, 11 student-athletes from seven universities were found to have “bet on their own performances, shared information with known bettors and/or engaged in game manipulation to collect on bets they - or others - placed.”
13 student-athletes from eight schools failed to cooperate in the sports betting integrity investigation by providing “false or misleading information, failing to provide relevant documentation and/or refusing to be interviewed by the enforcement staff.”
Baker continued: “The Association has and will continue to aggressively pursue sports betting violations in college athletics using a layered integrity monitoring program that covers over 22,000 contests, but we still need the remaining states, regulators and gaming companies to eliminate threats to integrity - such as collegiate prop bets - to better protect athletes and leagues from integrity risks and predatory bettors.
“We also will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement. We urge all student-athletes to make well-informed choices to avoid jeopardizing the game and their eligibility.”
The NCAA President also issued a letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig on January 14, requesting sports prediction markets on collegiate sports be suspended until a more regulated system is implemented.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board issued a response to the recent betting scandal unveiled within the NBA, as well as implemented various responsible gaming measures for licensed operators on November 3
