Ohio regulator prohibits collegiate prop bets following NCAA request

The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has approved a request by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) to prohibit sportsbook operators offering prop bets that involve collegiate athletes.

Operators in the Buckeye State have until March 1 to implement the ban on any wager on any individual’s performance or statistics in an NCAA-governed event. Any bets placed on events that haven’t happened yet must be voided. 

The ban comes after NCAA president Charlie Baker, backed by Governor Mike DeWine, wrote to the OCCC on January 31 to request the banning of prop bets on collegiate sports due to the growing level of “bad actors” threatening student-athletes. 

Baker highlighted “multiple instances of harassment, including a significant increase in reports of student-athletes being harassed by bettors”, with concerns over general health and mental wellbeing of student-athletes also being cited.

OCCC executive director Matthew Schuler has now written to the NCAA and the state’s active operators to confirm his decision to greenlight a ban, while laying out his reasoning behind the move.

Schuler confirmed the OCCC had received written comments from eight operators who “generally objected” to an outright prop bet ban.

Operators claimed to have been able to monitor bullying or harassment of student-athletes by customers and take “appropriate action”.

Firms also pointed to the potential rise in black-market activity, with customers heading offshore to place prop bets in face of the ban.

As part of the process of banning prop bets, the OCCC welcomed those comments from operators, as well as financial data from firms to potentially support the argument of retaining prop bets as a product.

The analysed data showed that bettors in Ohio wagered $104.6m on student-athlete player prop bets during 2023, which when met with an average hold of 12%, would have returned $12.5m in taxable revenue for sportsbooks.

Extrapolating that revenue return with a 20% tax rate would result in tax for the state of just $2.5m, according to Schuler.

The OCCC reported around $7.7bn in handle for 2023, generating a total of $936.9m in taxable revenue. The regulator said that the amount of money spent on prop bets only made up 1.4% of the total bets placed in Ohio in 2023.

Player prop bets for college sports also accounted for 2.2% of wager selections in 2023 and 0.7% of total wager made with operators.

In his letter, Schuler said that the NCAA was best placed to determine what could threaten the league’s integrity and what could affect the safety of its players, while also dismissing operator arguments on black-market growth.

He said: “I have determined that good cause supports the NCAA’s request to prohibit player-specific prop bets on intercollegiate athletics competitions because the NCAA’s request will safeguard the integrity of sports gaming and will be in the best interests of the public.

“The occurrences of and increase in the harassment of student athletes based upon their performance or statistics in an intercollegiate athletics competition presents a clear and present danger to the best interests of Ohio.

“Based upon the information provided by the NCAA, and not counteracted by any other data or information provided, prohibiting player-specific prop bets will improve student-athlete well-being, including their mental health.

“The operators are assuming that all those in the market to make these bets will go to illegal operators or bookmakers to place bets if the NCAA’s request is approved. The operators failed to provide any factual basis to support this assumption. I perceive the risk of a black-market boom to be low,” Schuler added.

In banning college sports prop bets, Ohio becomes the 25^th US state to prohibit or somewhat limit the vertical.

Ohio had already taken some steps to protect collegiate athletes following the legalization of sports betting in the Buckeye State in January 2023.

In July 2023, a law was passed that targeted individuals who had threatened collegiate athletes with violence or harm by banning them from making wagers in Ohio.

Schuler concluded: “The NCAA has shown good cause to support its request to prohibit player-specific prop bets on NCAA collegiate events in Ohio.

“While I recognize that there may be a small negative impact to operator and tax revenue, the protection of student-athletes and the integrity of collegiate competitions far outweigh these impacts.”