The mounting pressure from the NCAA is getting many state regulators to reconsider their stances on college prop bets.
The latest to reverse course on the market is Louisiana. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board announced today that the bets will not be allowed in the state after Aug. 1. The order went out to operators on April 2.
The move comes less than a week after NCAA President Charlie Baker publicly called for states still offering the market to consider shutting them down.
“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 getting harassed,” Baker said. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”
Louisiana joins Ohio and Maryland as states to reverse course on this in 2024. Many other states expressly stated collegiate prop wagers were not allowed when sports betting was legalized. However, there are still nearly 20 states still offering the wagers.
Many other regulators have said they will be considering the issue over the coming weeks.
Critics of the move suggest that eliminating the betting markets will drive bettors back to offshore operators. According to operator data provided to Ohio, college prop bets consisted of 1.3% of all wagers accepted in the state last year. Sportsbooks accepted $104.6 million in player prop wagers and collected a little over $12 million in revenue. Ohio sportsbooks collectively accepted $7.6 billion in wagers last year.
