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The NCAA has announced plans to implement player availability reports for the 2026 season in a push to protect student well-being. This comes after it was revealed that several NBA stars had allegedly used players’ injury information to place wagers.
Upon advice from the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees, the national arm of the office will put player availability reports into play for the 2026 season. The reports will ideally reduce betting-related pressure, solicitations, and harassment for student athletes in the latest push to protect young people’s well-being.

NCAA announces implementation of player availability reporting for 2026 DI Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. https://t.co/jHWKf8VGfP

— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) October 30, 2025

“After months of thorough discussion and exploration, I applaud the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees for taking such important action,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement. “Implementing player availability reporting is a major step to increasing student-athlete protections by alleviating pressures for the enhancement of their college experience.”
The NCAA availability report plans
The reports will be provided via HD Intelligence, with the company already providing similar services to multiple NCAA member conferences. They will be publicly available, as well as made directly applicable to all March Madness contests. Every team must initially submit reports to the NCAA by the night before the competition at the latest, as well as again two hours before game time for accurate information.
Failure to adhere to these rules could result in penalties for the school, which will be up to the Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees to determine. While the player availability reports is in a pilot stage at the moment, the NCAA plans to use its progress here to evaluate if it could be put into action in other divisions or championships.
“The NCAA will continue to address the rise of sports betting through one of the world’s largest integrity monitoring programs, increasing online protections for student-athletes, delivering virtual and in-person education for student-athletes and athletics department staff nationwide, aggressively pursuing sports betting violations and advocating for the removal of risky prop bets,” said the organization.
Last month, the NCAA opened an investigation into sports betting concerns after it uncovered three others were involved in gambling on their own games.
Featured image: Flickr, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
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Rumors of FBI involvement are starting to swirl online after sportsbooks refunded wagers following accusations of fight fixing in a UFC bout.
UFC Vegas 110 became the subject of controversy on Saturday (November 1), after Cuban featherweight up and comer Yadier del Valle surprised fans by submitting assumed champion Isaac Dulgarian in the first round. Fights can always go either way, of course, but what has particularly rankled fans, gamblers, and potentially the authorities is that the betting line shifted dramatically an hour before the fight got underway.
This has led to allegations of fixing the fight on social media from both fans and oddmakers. The change was certainly dramatic, with Dulgarian opening as a -240 favorite before tightening to -160 just before the fight. Adding more fuel to the fire, the prop bet for a first-round finish dropped from +850 to +475, a wager that is estimated to have brought in five figures in late-action bets. This led to multiple sportsbooks, including industry giant DraftKings, reportedly pulling the prop line altogether.
Allegations of UFC fixing escalate
In the aftermath of events, there are now reports trickling through that the FBI was aware of the unusual betting patterns.
“The FBI notified the UFC of the abnormal action and line movement and gave them hours to pull the fight,” wrote Harry Mac on X, from an account that’s broken sports news for ESPN and other verified outlets in the past. “They chose to continue and from my perspective are now complicit in fixing a fight.”

Update: federal regulators have flagged OVER 100 UFC fights this year for abnormal betting patterns, including 2 additional fighters on last nights card. Shit is about to get VERY ugly. Still working to confirm but it sounds like the Feds are moving to audit Herzogs fights https://t.co/mtx6XiTFJS
— Harry Mac (@bbharrymac) November 2, 2025

Later, he updated with another post: “Federal regulators have flagged OVER 100 UFC fights this year for abnormal betting patterns, including two additional fighters on last night’s card. S*** is about to get VERY ugly. Still working to confirm but it sounds like the Feds are moving to audit Herzog’s fights.”
What’s more, major sportsbooks, Caesars and William Hill, have taken to social media stating that they will be offering refunds for bets placed on the fight.

Mobile customers with losing bets on the Dulgarian UFC fight will receive a cash credit within 24 hours (singles), or within 24 hours of the last leg being determined (Parlay/SGP/Super Parlay) should that bet have won without that leg included.
— William Hill US (@WilliamHillUS) November 2, 2025

Mobile customers with losing bets on the Dulgarian UFC fight will receive a cash credit within 24 hours (singles), or within 24 hours of the last leg being determined (Parlay/SGP/Super Parlay) should that bet have won without that leg included.
— Caesars Sportsbook Support (@CaesarsHelp) November 2, 2025

 
No formal investigation has been announced, but that task would likely fall to either or both of the Nevada State Athletic Commission or UFC itself. This comes after a greater risk of fixing sports events was warned about last week, especially with the rise of prediction markets.
ReadWrite has reached out to DraftKings for comment.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0
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