After nationwide criticism, the University of Colorado has decided to end its referral fee bonus program with online sportsbook PointsBet.
University spokesman Steve Hurlbert told the CU Independent it had reevaluated its partnership with the online sportsbook and said the rest of the agreement would stay in place, however.
The Boulder, Colorado, campus was one of the first colleges in the country to sign a betting partnership when it agreed to a $1.6 million deal over five years with PointsBet in September 2020.
The New York Times reported last year that the university got a $30 referral bonus every time someone signed up with PointsBet. The university was accused of encouraging sports betting on the college campus.
In addition to the referral bonus, the deal included advertising space at the school’s athletic events and on-campus recruitment opportunities.
The arrangement saw criticism from a wide range of groups, including those who were against sports betting coming to Colorado in the first place.
They alleged that it was becoming popular with college students and pointed to a statistic from the National Council on Problem Gambling that said 67 percent of college students bet on sports.
Seth Hornstein, chair of CU’s Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, told the CU Independent that the university worked together to solve the issue of referral bonuses.
“We felt it would make something good come out of the agreement,” Hornstein said. “Some of that money would be invested back into the university to help student-athletes and students, staff and faculty in general.”
It’s not as if the bonuses were a windfall. Hurlbert said the total last year was $1,830. CU used the funds for gambling education.
One benefit the campus has seen has been the recruitment by PointsBet. It has been a boon to business and engineering seniors looking to get into the sports industry. PointsBet is based in Australia, but its U.S. headquarters are in Denver, approximately 30 miles from the campus.
