NFHS launches free sports betting course to protect Indiana high school students

The National Federation of State High School Associations launched a no-cost sports wagering course on April 9, 2026, making a short, two-clock-hour elective available immediately on the NFHS Learning Center for coaches, students, parents and administrators. The Indiana High School Athletic Association reposted the NFHS release on its media page the same day, signaling that IHSAA member schools should circulate the module to athletic departments ahead of offseason and preseason meetings.

The course is built to be both prevention and intervention: NFHS lists topics that include the rapid growth of sports betting, how advertising and mobile apps reach minors, the behavioral signs of problem gambling such as unexplained mood changes, secrecy around devices, rapidly declining academic performance and unusual requests for money, and the mental-health risks that can accompany problem gambling. The Learning Center listing identifies the module as the Sports Wagering elective, approved for 2 Clock Hours, free to complete and issued with a certificate of completion for participants who finish the material.

Dan Schuster, NFHS director of educational services, framed the offering around student welfare: "The NFHS Learning Center is pleased to help raise awareness of the mental-health challenges and risks sports betting can pose to young people." NFHS also situates the course within its broader student-athlete welfare portfolio that already includes concussion awareness and sportsmanship education, giving athletic directors a ready-made classroom tool to add to required trainings or optional staff development.

The timing carries particular weight in Indiana, where legal sports betting has been part of the landscape since HB 1015 was signed by Governor Eric Holcomb in May 2019, retail sportsbooks opened Sept. 1, 2019 and mobile books launched Oct. 3, 2019; the state enforces a 21-and-older minimum for wagering. High-visibility windows such as March Madness, when NCAA tournament coverage and prop-market advertising climb and Indianapolis-area venues like Gainbridge Fieldhouse host marquee college basketball events, increase teenagers’ exposure to betting products and social-media promotion.

National data underline the stakes NFHS highlights: an NCAA survey released in January 2025 sampled 21,450 student-athletes and found 22 percent of NCAA men and about 5 percent of NCAA women reported betting on sports at least once in the previous 12 months. NFHS points to college-level enforcement from 2024 and 2025, where multiple NCAA investigations and penalties documented integrity risks that can begin with exposure in high school.

For Indiana prep basketball programs, the course is a practical tool with simple next steps. Athletic directors should circulate the Learning Center module and document completion at the school level; head coaches should discuss betting risks with rosters during offseason workouts and preseason meetings, especially for seniors and players attracting NIL attention; and schools should provide counselors and local treatment referrals, including the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET and Indiana’s hotline at 1-800-994-8448. NFHS serves about 19,500 high schools and more than 12 million young people through its 51 state associations, so local uptake by IHSAA members could quickly put education and intervention resources into every Hoosier locker room.

The IHSAA reposting on April 9, 2026, makes clear the state association sees the module as actionable; coaches and athletic directors who assign the two-clock-hour elective now will create documented prevention steps that protect competitive integrity and student welfare before next season begins.