Iowa Gaming Commission boss: No evidence student-athletes bet on Iowa, Iowa State games

The head of the Iowa Gaming Commission has confirmed there’s no evidence to suggest Iowa and Iowa State athletes bet on their own respective games. That statement came about amid investigations into both programs.

Brian Ohorilko told The Action Network there’s no evidence to suggest there was any suspicious wagering activity on games. News broke Monday of investigations into 41 student-athletes — 26 at Iowa and 15 at Iowa State — for allegations involving online sports gambling. Based on the commission’s findings as of Monday night, those athletes didn’t engage in suspicious wagering activity or match fixing.

“We review 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.”

The investigation comes about a week after a similar one into Alabama baseball that actually found suspicious wagering activity and led to the firing of Crimson Tide head coach Brad Bohannon. That occurred after a betting halt on Alabama baseball.

Ohorilko said he doesn’t expect a betting halt on Iowa or Iowa State sports as a result of this investigation.

“There wasn’t anything giving us pause or leading us to believe that any of these markets were compromised,” Ohorilko said.

More on the sports betting situation at Iowa, Iowa State

The situation got started with an investigation into Iowa baseball, according to The Action Network’s Darren Rovell. Players received suspensions for the game against Ohio State, and Rovell confirmed they were suspended “due to a potential violation.”

Then, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission said 26 student-athletes from the football, men’s basketball, baseball, wrestling and men’s track and field teams were at the center of an investigation, as was one full-time employee.

“The commission takes the integrity of gaming in the state seriously and is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide any additional information when able,” Ohorilko said, via USA Today.

A similar situation was unfolding in Ames at Iowa State, where the athletics department announced 15 student-athletes from football, wrestling, and track and field were facing allegations of online sports betting.

“lowa State University and its Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is aware of online sports wagering allegations involving approximately 15 of our active student-athletes from the sports of football, wrestling and track & field in violation of NCAA rules,” Iowa State Athletics wrote in a statement. “The university has notified the NCAA and will take the appropriate actions to resolve these issues.”