Venmo, the popular digital payment service owned by PayPal, has announced a strategic partnership with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to address the growing issue of online harassment directed at student-athletes.
The joint campaign aims to create a safer digital environment for sportspeople who are increasingly targeted by disgruntled fans and bettors.
The initiative acknowledges that athletes at all levels are vulnerable to online abuse, which is often linked to sports betting.
A recent NCAA study highlighted the severity of the problem, revealing that 12% of all abusive content aimed at college athletes was related to wagering.
A common form of this harassment involves disgruntled bettors, who have lost money on a game, sending unsolicited Venmo payment requests to the players they blame for the outcome.
To combat this behavior, Venmo is implementing several protective measures. A key component is the introduction of a dedicated reporting hotline within the app, allowing users to flag instances of abuse and harassment efficiently.
The company will also actively monitor student-athlete accounts and investigate correlations between on-field performance and the volume of incoming payment requests.
Furthermore, Venmo will work directly with the NCAA to distribute educational materials through the association’s extensive media channels, helping athletes implement necessary security settings on their accounts.
This collaboration is part of a broader effort to address sports wagering issues, as a previous NCAA investigation found that 27% of autonomy schools had reported problems related to sports betting.
The multi-faceted approach underscores a commitment from both organizations to protect the well-being of student-athletes in the digital age.
David Szuchman, SVP, Head of Global Financial Crime and Customer Protection at PayPal, pointed out:
While unwanted interactions to athletes make up an extremely small percentage of transactions on Venmo, even a small number of these incidents is unacceptable.
Charlie Baker, NCAA President, explained:
Several states have passed laws to crack down on this behaviour to protect student-athletes, and we hope more do the same because stopping this abuse requires action on multiple fronts.
