ACC announces partnership with EPIC Global Solutions
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and EPIC Global Solutions have announced a partnership in a joint venture to collaborate on gambling harm minimization.
As sports wagering and gambling continues to grow across the nation, the partnership will focus on educating professionals working in college athletics on gambling harm prevention with the well-being of student-athletes and the integrity of college athletics in mind.
EPIC Global Solutions delivers ground-breaking harm minimization programs, independently accredited training, and class-leading advisory to help individuals and organizations across the sports wagering ecosystem to minimize the risks posed by gambling harm.
“We are dedicated to ensuring our student-athletes and administrators are educated in this exceedingly important area,” said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “EPIC continues to be a leader with experts that will provide educational resources in to assist in identifying the risks that come with legalized sports wagering.”
“This relationship furthers EPIC’s mission to minimize gambling-related harm and we’re delighted to be working with the ACC to extend the reach of this message,” said EPIC vice president of partnerships Teresa Fiore. “With the sports wagering landscape in the US constantly evolving, it’s vital that we help student-athletes and staff to make informed decisions around their relationship with gambling and also recognize signs of gambling-related harm in others where possible.”
Both the ACC and EPIC will look to deliver comprehensive education and awareness, as well as train individuals through workshops provided to numerous groups of the ACC and its member institutions. EPIC will also support ACC in navigating the complex gaming landscape in the states in which the ACC has league members, both current and future.
As part of the partnership, EPIC has and will present to several groups that work directly with student-athletes within college athletics including:
– ACC SAAC met in January with two student-athletes from each school participating in person.
– Student-Athlete Development Administrators participated as part of the January in-person SAAC meeting. One administrator from each member school attended.
– A presentation to more than 125 healthcare professionals from all 15 current schools as well as the three incoming schools at the ACC Health & Safety Summit in May. The summit will include athletic trainers, team physicians, dieticians, mental health professionals, strength & conditioning/sports performance, physical therapists, and sports scientists.
EPIC has worked with the NCAA to visit approximately 75 college campuses per year and educate thousands of student-athletes on the risks that can stem from newly legalized sports wagering across most states and other forms of gambling. The organization is currently in the third year of a five-year arrangement to visit NCAA colleges across all three divisions and has recently reached the milestone of engaging with 50,000 student-athletes across 200 colleges.
Among ACC institutions, EPIC has worked with Duke, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State and Pitt.
Most recently, EPIC Global Solutions, Major League Baseball (MLB), and Entain Foundation U.S. have partnered to enhance MLB’s efforts to educate players on how to prevent gambling-related harms.
The new arrangement is announced as the US marks Problem Gambling Awareness Month throughout March; a nationwide initiative aimed at raising awareness of problem gambling and promoting prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
