Outright Prohibitions on College Player Prop Betting May Not Be Effective

An expert panel at SBC Summit North America discusses college sports betting and prohibitions on player props.

• The NCAA has requested all states prohibit college player prop betting
• An expert panel at SBC Summit North America discussed how states can protect student athletes
• An outright ban on college player prop betting may force users outside of regulated markets

Keeping student athletes safe from outside influences and themselves is one of the highest priorities of the NCAA, according to an NCAA spokesperson at SBC Summit North America.

A panel of experts discussed the recent movement of states to evaluate prohibiting college player prop bets and the future of regulation in college sports betting markets.

While a prohibition on such bets as college player props may seem intuitive, at least one expert believes an outright ban will not work and only force customers to unregulated spaces.

Keeping Student Athletes Safe

Mark Hicks, managing director of NCAA, explained the organization’s recent request of states to prohibit college player prop betting. It’s a two-fold strategy, he noted, to keep student athletes safe from abuse from bettors and to reduce the temptation to bet on themselves.

“The other reality we’re considering is that we’re starting to see situations where our student athletes are betting on themselves. We cannot always make those issues public, but schools are wrestling with these situations where student athletes are encouraged to bet on themselves by having these options,” Hicks said.

States have taken notice, as Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, and Louisiana have all recently prohibited college player prop bets.

New Jersey and North Carolina are also both considering bills to ban these types of markets.

Prohibition May Be Ineffective

However, outright prohibition may not be the most effective strategy to curtail these types of harms, said Alan Friedman, distinguished fellow, responsible gaming, UNLV International Gaming Institute.

Friedman suggested a potential solution would be to ban student athletes from placing these types of bets, but still allowing them to the general public.

“A prohibition for student athletes, betting on themselves or teams, that makes perfect sense. It’s a very clear rule, and if it’s not that clear, it becomes very problematic. It needs to be crystal clear. In my mind, prohibition in that circumstance is both appropriate and observable,” he said.

When prohibitions extend out to the public, that’s where policy begins to fail, Friedman noted.

“That’s where we start to see prohibition fail in every use it’s ever had.”

NCAA Reconsidering Gambling Policy?

In one interesting moment of the panel, Hicks said the NCAA is currently engaging in conversations with all three divisions of college sports to see if their current sports betting policy should be modified in any way.

In the past year, the NCAA modified its sports betting policy to more reflect the modern world.

Hicks said a conversation is currently taking place to evaluate all facets of the policy, and he noted that a question is being asked for everyone involved.

“Should student athletes and staff be allowed to bet on college sports and professional sports?”

The conversation will continue with representatives for the rest of the year, he said.

Gambling