NCAA calls for college prop bets ban to protect student athletes
US college sports governing body urges all states to introduce better safeguards for sporting integrity
The governing body of American college sports has called on all states to ban college prop bets in an attempt to better protect student athletes and sporting integrity.
With more states regulating sports betting, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) released data last September which showed 27% of schools were dealing with gambling issues in the previous 12 months.
Despite relaxing the reinstatement guidelines for student athletes last November, the NCAA sent a request to the Ohio Casino Control Commission in January to prohibit sportsbook operators from offering college prop bets.
The request was accepted at the end of February, making Ohio the 25th state to ban or limit the vertical.
Now Charlie Baker, the NCAA president, is attempting to remove college prop bets from all betting markets, highlighting the issues that US sports have had recently in relation to athletes and sports betting.
In a statement, he said: “Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes being harassed.
“The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”
Baker added: “This week we will be contacting officials across the country in states that still allow these bets and ask them to join Ohio, Vermont, Maryland, and many others and remove college prop bets from all betting markets.
“The NCAA is drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game – issues across the country these last several days show there is more work to be done.”
Last week, Major League Baseball franchise the Los Angeles Dodgers fired Ippei Mizuhara, the interpreter of its player Shohei Ohtani, after he was accused of stealing $4.5m for placing wagers with an illegal bookmaker in Southern California.
Days later, ESPN reported that the National Basketball Association was investigating Jontay Porter, a forward for the Toronto Raptors, for prop bets involving himself.