Oklahoma QB John Mateer Denies Sports Betting After Venmo Screenshots Appear Online

^{John Mateer is at the center of a betting probe following Venmo screenshots referencing college football wagers. (Photo: Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire / AP)}

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer has told school officials that he has never gambled on sports after screenshots appeared on social media Monday night showing Venmo receipts with references to “sports gambling” from 2022.

The transactions, dated Nov. 20, 2022, would have occurred while Mateer was a freshman at Washington State. 

Venmo Receipts Reference Sports Gambling with Teammate

Both transactions were allegedly made to a Venmo account belonging to Richard Roaten, then believed to be a teammate of Mateer’s on the Washington State Cougars. One memo reads “Sports gambling (UCLA vs USC),” while the other says only “Sports gambling.”

According to multiple media reports, Mateer has spoken to school officials at Oklahoma, and has denied ever having gambled. ESPN reported that officials at the university are planning to investigate the matter.

Mateer is considered a key member of the Oklahoma football squad. He was a major addition in the offseason, being ranked as one of the top transfer targets in the nation. A sophomore last year at Washington State, Mateer threw for 29 touchdowns and 3139 yards while completing 64.6 percent of his passes. He also ran for 15 touchdowns.

The Sooners were ranked No. 18 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Oklahoma will begin its season on Aug. 30 at home against the Illinois State Redbirds.

NCAA Considering Changes to Gambling Enforcement Rules

Currently, NCAA rules do not allow athletes, coaches, or other staff members to bet on sports betting at any level on any sport that the NCAA sponsors. 

However, the NCAA is considering a proposal from the Division I Council that would change those rules and allow for wagering on professional sports. Such a rule would only be implemented if all three levels of NCAA sports (including Division II and Division III) voted to make that change.

Of course, even that change wouldn’t apply to Mateer’s situation. The reference to “UCLA vs USC” is particularly striking, as those two schools competed against each other in football on Nov. 19 – just one day before the transactions depicted in the Venmo screenshots – with the USC Trojans winning 48-45 over the UCLA Bruins.

Already in 2025, the NCAA has had to grapple with multiple sports betting scandals, ranging from match-fixing to more casual wagering issues.

In February, two players on the Fresno State University Bulldogs men’s basketball team were suspended and a third was removed from the team after allegations surfaced that the three were tied to sports betting, with at least two players allegedly placing Under prop bets on points and rebounds. 

In March, the University of Notre Dame announced that it was suspending its entire men’s swimming team for a minimum of one year after an investigation found that many team members were allegedly wagering with each other on their own performances by setting Over/Under times on individual swimmers in various races.