Iowa kicker Aaron Blom accused of underage sports wagering, betting on Hawkeye games

Iowa kicker Aaron Blom was accused of underage sports wagering, according to a report from John Steppe of The Gazette.

This comes on the heels of Iowa State quarterback Hunter Dekkers being accused of betting on sporting events, including football. It seems like a domino effect in college sports betting.

At this point, there is no official word on Blom nor is there any punishment regarding the accusations. 

“Another development in the sports gambling investigation: Hawkeyes kicker Aaron Blom is accused of underage sports wagering, including one bet on Iowa football while he was on the team,” Steppe wrote on Twitter.

Blom was a backup kicker at the time he placed the bets, according to the report. 

“The court document alleges he placed ‘approximately eight’ bets on Iowa sporting events, including the aforementioned one on his own team,” Steppe wrote.

There was a total of “approximately 170” underage sports wagers from Blom, according to the report. It totaled more than $4,400.

Blom is accused of disguising his identity by using his mother’s information to bet on DraftKings sportsbook, like former Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen.

“Both Blom and his mother ‘were cooperative during the investigation, according to the complaint,’ and Blom made the bets with his mother’s ‘consent and knowledge,'” Steppe wrote.

“The court document said the bets were ‘routinely and consistently’ made from Blom’s phone and came from locations that included ‘his university residence and areas of the university not routinely open to the public.'”

As of Wednesday morning, Blom remained on the Iowa football roster. Blom was 1-of-3 on field goal attempts last season and went 1-for-1 on extra points.

Iowa Gaming Commission previously said no evidence showing bets on Iowa, Iowa State games

The head of the Iowa Gaming Commission said in May that there was no evidence to suggest that either Iowa and Iowa State athletes bet on their own respective games. That statement came about amid investigations into both programs.

Brian Ohorilko told The Action Network there’s no evidence to suggest there was any suspicious wagering activity on games. News broke Monday of investigations into 41 student-athletes — 26 at Iowa and 15 at Iowa State — for allegations involving online sports gambling. Based on the commission’s findings as of Monday night, those athletes didn’t engage in suspicious wagering activity or match fixing.

“We review the types of wagers that come in and how suspicious they are,” Ohorilko said. “We have no reason to believe that there’s anything like that here.”