Sports betting apps monitor user location with GPS tracking and real-time data to detect any suspicious activity, resulting in a higher percentage of people being caught than ever before, and recent news stories have confirmed the effectiveness of these measures, proving that legalized sports betting is the solution to detecting and preventing illegal activity.

Whenever an individual, whether a professional NFL player or an ordinary person, accesses a sports betting application, their location is promptly displayed on a dashboard that can be viewed by integrity analysts. According to Matt Holt, the founder, and CEO of U.S. Integrity, which has collaborated with almost all major sports organizations and sportsbooks in North America to identify any anomalies, including fraudulent activities, point-shaving, or game-fixing, the location is accurate within a 3-foot radius.

In essence, the sports betting app not only identifies the user but also their location, which implies that any athlete who logs in while at a team facility, even if they are betting on a sport other than football, will be detected almost immediately, which is against the NFL's regulations. Similarly, if a referee utilizes a friend's account to log in from the pregame dressing room, it raises concerns since the friend is not a referee and would not be present in that particular locker room.

Nowadays, US Integrity and other similar firms have several tools at their disposal, including real-time betting data and trends, sophisticated analytical software that can instantly identify even the slightest deviation from the norm, both collectively and individually, as well as comprehensive social media monitoring systems, in addition to GPS tracking. According to Holt, any suspicious, unexpected, or dubious activity is promptly flagged, resulting in a higher percentage of people being caught than at any other time in the history of sports gambling in North America.

Recent news stories have confirmed the effectiveness of these measures. The NFL suspended five players in the spring, ranging from six games to an entire season, with GPS data proving that they had placed bets on non-NFL games while at the team facility. In another instance, a betting scandal in college baseball resulted in the firing of Alabama's head coach and Cincinnati's resignation, as unexpected bets were placed on an SEC baseball game played in Louisiana.

In Iowa, an investigation is underway into 41 college athletes from at least five different sports at Iowa and Iowa State. Moreover, this week, Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers admitted to "making mistakes" and is currently being investigated by the NFL for sports betting. According to ESPN, up to 100 bets, primarily ranging between $25 and $50, were placed on NFL games, including the Colts, via an acquaintance's account, highlighting the precision of the monitoring industry.

For many years, legal sportsbook operators in Nevada would scoff at the NFL or the NCAA's efforts to safeguard the integrity of their games against sports betting. The casinos' argument was that if they want the games to remain untainted, they should legalize sports betting since the only defense against point-shaving or game-fixing was the monitoring that Vegas could offer, even if it was rudimentary at the time. After all, no one was more invested in a fair game than the individuals accepting the wagers.

Five years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that individual states should determine the legality of sports betting. To date, 33 states, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized it, and every sports organization in the country has partnered with sportsbooks to capitalize on the opportunity. However, after a rush to legalize sports betting, states, books, and leagues have now shifted their focus to monitoring and detection. As more laws and data are introduced, the system becomes increasingly effective. According to Holt, the reason for this is not that athletes are betting more today than they were two years ago, but rather that state gaming commissions are now prioritizing this issue.

Essentially, legalized sports betting is not causing scandals when athletes, coaches, referees, or officials are caught; rather, it is enabling the scandals to be detected. In Vegas, older individuals still recount with pride how sportsbooks uncovered a point-shaving ring involving the 1994 Arizona State basketball team, led by guard Stevin "Hedake" Smith. However, due to limited detection tools, the scheme wasn't discovered until the fourth game. If it had occurred in 2023, Holt claimed that it would have been detected immediately. The transparency available today allows for much more than what was possible even a decade or so ago. While it's impossible to say that nothing suspicious is happening, the advanced monitoring systems' power is evident in their scope, from the NFL to a random Iowa State athlete, and the minor nature of the mistakes, such as betting in the wrong location. Nothing has even come close to the severity of point-shaving or game-throwing.

Holt predicts that the monitoring system will continue to strengthen. There are undisclosed tools, and as more states legalize sports betting (four more are expected to do so), the amount of data available for detection will increase, and the amount wagered with organized crime or unregulated offshore entities will decrease. For instance, US Integrity is currently implementing encryptions that will prevent athletes, coaches, and referees from betting, thereby curbing some of the problems before they even arise. Colts linebacker E.J. Speed recently attended an NFL education session and advised reporters that the lesson he learned from the situation is not to gamble.

Speed's advice is wise. Anyone who is considering betting, let alone attempting to influence the outcome, should be aware that the extensive and constantly improving monitoring community is unlikely to be outsmarted. If someone does try, they will almost certainly be caught. When they are caught, it is not a sign that legalized sports betting is problematic; rather, legalized sports betting is the solution to detecting and preventing such illegal activity.