Charlie Baker
NCAA Calls for Changes to Sports Betting Laws to Protect Student-Athletes
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has called on lawmakers and regulators in the US to update existing sports betting laws and regulations to protect student-athletes and ensure the integrity of college games.
The NCAA said it will begin advocating for updated sports betting laws in state legislatures to protect student-athletes from harassment or coercion, address the negative impacts of problem gambling, and protect the integrity of NCAA competition.
In the past five years, 38 states have passed 38 different laws legalizing sports betting, and while some contain robust protection and integrity provisions, many do not.
The NCAA surveyed student-athletes, engaged with key stakeholders and reviewed laws and regulations from across the country to identify model legislative provisions that it would recommend states pass. The provisions are intended to protect student-athletes, coaches, game officials and college sports personnel from harassment and problem gambling and to bolster integrity protections.
“The NCAA is making changes to help student-athletes make smart choices when it comes to sports betting, but given the explosive growth of this new industry, we are eager to partner with lawmakers, regulators and industry leaders to protect student-athletes from harassment and threats. Some states have great policies on the books to protect student-athletes from harassment and coercion and to protect the integrity of the games, but as more states pass or amend laws, more needs to be done,” NCAA President Charlie Baker said.
With several states still considering legalizing sports betting, the NCAA plans to work with lawmakers to include the provisions in pending legislation. All the provisions the NCAA is advocating for are currently in place in at least one state but not all, creating an uneven playing field and leaving student-athletes vulnerable.
To protect student-athletes from harassment or coercive behavior, the NCAA is advocating for mandatory reporting hotlines for gambling authorities to report such behavior to law enforcement, increased penalties for bettors who harass student-athletes and mandatory education for operators to help identify harassment.
Additionally, to protect the integrity of competition, states should have regulations identifying prohibited bettors and prohibit individuals younger than 21 from wagering on sports. Any sports wagering advertisement also should include information about the harassment hotline, problem gambling and prohibitions on harassment related to sports wagering. The revenue generated from sports betting should be allocated in part toward education to support the higher-risk college student population, including student-athletes.
“We are in a time where student-athlete health and well-being is the main priority. With the legalization of sports betting, it is imperative that we take a proactive approach to protecting student-athletes from the potential of negative engagement with bettors. Thirty-eight states have clearly passed 38 different laws, but one thing that needs to be consistent across all is prioritizing the student-athlete experience and preventing harmful activity that jeopardizes the integrity of sports,” said Morgyn Wynne, vice chair of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Arkansas
North Carolina Lawmaker to Introduce Bill to End College Player Prop Bets
North Carolina legislator intends to introduce legislation to ban college player prop bets, according to a staff member.
North Carolina State Representative Marcia Morey, D-Durham, a former Olympic swimmer, will submit a bill by the bill filing deadline on Thursday to ban these bets, Hannah Smith, Administrative Assistant, told Gambling.com on Monday.
The North Carolina Legislature began meeting in Raleigh on April 24 with the session set to end on July 31.
Recently, NCAA President Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, called upon states to ban college player prop bets, which is short for proposition bets. Baker said these bets, based on an athlete’s individual performance such as the over/under on the number of rebounds the player might record, could undermine the integrity of games and lead to harassment of players.
Former North Carolina Tar Heel star Armando Bacot is among athletes who have expressed concern about harassment. Bacot said he heard from fans angry that he didn’t get enough rebounds in an NCAA tournament game against Michigan State – a game the Tar Heels won.
College Prop Bets Allowed in Some States
Some states already ban these bets, while others including Louisiana, intend to impose a ban this summer before the college and pro football seasons begin.
In other states, the proposed ban has met with resistance.
During a recent interview on The Edge, Arkansas casino executive Carlton Saffa told Gambling.com a ban would drive bettors to unregulated offshore sportsbooks or illegal bookies. He said a better solution is to keep those bets legal in regulated markets where irregularities can be spotted.
“Sunshine is the best disinfectant,” Saffa, the Chief Marketing Officer for the Saracen Casino Resort in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, said.
College player prop bets remain legal in Arkansas.
In North Carolina, where statewide mobile sports betting became legal in March, State Representative Jason Saine, R-Lincoln, said in a story on the WNCN-TV website that a college player prop ban is ‘a solution in search of a problem’. If athletes are being harassed, he said, campus police should crack down on those making the threats and make an example of them. A ban won’t stop the problem, Saine said.
“If we ended (player prop bets) tomorrow, this kind of behavior would still continue with fanatical people,” Saine said. “Follow rules of society, you don’t threaten anybody, or you shouldn’t be. And, that’s kind of my take on it. I don’t think we need a whole new set of rules to pursue something like that.”
Morey, the lawmaker proposing the ban, said people are ‘forgetting about the individuals who are actually playing the game and having the pressure on them’.
“Let’s give them a break,” she said.
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