Officials Investigating Suspicious Betting Activity in UNLV vs. New Mexico Game

LAS VEGAS — Gaming commission officials in multiple states are investigating last month’s UNLV at New Mexico game because of suspicious and/or abnormal betting activity against the Lobos, sources told Action Network.

UNLV opened as a 10.5-point favorite against New Mexico. By kickoff six days later, UNLV had ballooned to a 16.5-point favorite. The Rebels scored on their first five possessions and easily won, 56-14.

Hours before the Nov. 4 kickoff, an alert was sent out by a licensed independent integrity monitor regarding suspicious wagering on the game, sports betting operators told Action Network. The alert was triggered by a large U.S. sportsbook that first identified the abnormal betting activity.

The NCAA, Mountain West and New Mexico are aware of the ongoing investigations.

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Iowa’s Racing and Gaming Commission told Action Network it “did not find evidence that would indicate a pattern of suspicious wagering activity in the state of Iowa” on the game.

An official with the Nevada Gaming Control Board would not confirm or deny an ongoing investigation into the wagering activity on the game.

One of the concerns from sportsbook operators was the number of new accounts being created with the sole purpose of wagering on the UNLV-New Mexico game, sources said.

While not referring specifically to the UNLV-New Mexico game, SuperBook Sports executive director John Murray said this type of betting activity “would raise eyebrows.”

“It is suspicious to us when a new account signs up and they bet as much as they can on one event,” Murray said. “It’s not common to have a whole group of new players all betting on the same game. That would raise eyebrows. That’s why sportsbooks have limits.”

Last year, it was estimated there was between $25-$28 billion legally wagered on college sports in the United States.

“The reason this (UNLV-New Mexico game) is a huge deal is an average casino sportsbook may take $10,000 to $20,000 on an obscure game,” an industry source said. “This kind of money — and all on one team — raises multiple red flags. Now, imagine what those numbers would be across the entire United States.”

A week after the game, New Mexico athletic director Eddie Nuñez said he was notified by U.S. Integrity, which monitors gambling activity for the NCAA, about the suspicious betting activity.

Nuñez immediately spoke to UNM’s football staff, and they said they had no knowledge of any wrongdoing.

“The whole staff was adamant they didn’t see anything (suspicious regarding players’ performances),” Nuñez told Action Network. “They were all pissed off we lost so bad.

“I know we got our ass beat, but we also got our butts beat in other games. I want people to understand — whatever happened, we are not associated with it. We looked around and looked into it, and there…