Iowa State QB Hunter Dekkers involved parents in alleged gambling scandal
Hunter Dekkers didn’t act alone in his alleged gambling scheme.
The Iowa State quarterback, who is facing criminal charges after he was accused Tuesday of betting on Cyclones sports teams, allegedly used his parents as a third party to conceal his online gambling identity.
The scheme allegedly made it appear as if Scott and Jami Dekkers were placing the online bets instead of their son.
Dekkers, 22, was charged with tampering with records involved in an Iowa Criminal Division investigation into sports gambling.
Iowa State announced it was cooperating with the state gambling regulators in May and, at the time, said approximately 15 athletes in three sports had potentially violated gambling rules.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by AP News, Dekkers placed 366 online bets worth more than $2,799, which spanned 25 Cyclones athletic events, including a 2021 football game against Oklahoma State in which Dekkers did not play.
The West Sioux High School product could lose his eligibility due to NCAA guidelines that prohibit athletes from gambling on their own team’s games and other sports at their school.
Dekkers’ attorney, Mark Weinhardst, said the redshirt junior would plead not guilty, but will miss preseason practices to “focus on his studies and on the defense of this criminal charge.”
“This charge attempts to criminalize a daily fact of American life. Millions of people share online accounts of all kinds every day,” Weinhardst said, according to AP News.
“Thousands and thousands of college athletes place bets — usually very small ones — with shared accounts. That is for the schools and the NCAA to police.”
Dekkers, who threw for 3,044 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last year, was primed to be the squad’s starter this season.
Two other current Iowa State student-athletes and one former Cyclones football player are facing the same charge as Dekkers, according to state online court records.
Former Iowa State defensive lineman Eyioma Uwazurike, who was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of 2022 NFL Draft, was recently suspended indefinitely by the league for betting on Broncos games throughout his rookie campaign.
Current Iowa State offensive lineman Dodge Sauser and wrestler Paniro Johnson are the other two who have been charged.
The four athletes are set to appear in court Aug. 16.
