A bill filed in Congress seeks to ban prop betting on college athletes nationwide.
As first reported by Casino Reports, the proposal was filed by Rep. Michael Baumgartner, who is also the chair of the College Sports Caucus. Numbered H.R. 1552, it is titled the Providing Responsible Oversight and Transparency and Ensuring Collegiate Trust for Student Athletes Act, to be known as the PROTECT Student Athletes Act.
The text states that “ensuring the welfare of student-athletes is a national concern” and that regulating betting on their individual performances is essential to safeguard sporting integrity and student-athlete wellbeing.
The Federal Trade Commission would be charged with enforcing the bill. Violating the prohibition by offering college player prop markets would be deemed a transgression of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
The bill was referred to the Congressional House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Feb. 25 but is yet to be read.
‘Essential’ to protect integrity and welfare, says sponsor
In a press release in late February, Baumgartner wrote that the bill aims to protect student-athletes by prohibiting prop bets related to their performance during intercollegiate sporting events.
Baumgartner wrote that sports gambling on college campuses has surged in recent years and said “it’s essential that we protect their integrity both on and off the field.”
“This bill doesn’t ban betting on college sports games, but it targets wagers on student athletes’ individual performances,” he specified. “We are witnessing a troubling rise in harassment of college athletes on campuses, as well as an alarming increase in cases of student-athletes being coerced into throwing games for financial gain.”
A study last fall from the NCAA and Signify found that thousands of “angry sports bettors” were abusing student-athletes in public posts on social media.
College betting still top of mind for lawmakers
Baumgartner’s bill isn’t the only federal proposal seeking to address prop betting. Unlike the reintroduced SAFE Bet Act, however, it drills down into college props specifically, rather than advocating for a blanket ban on the wager type.
Some states have also put the issue on their own agendas this session, but there is certainly no consensus.
Ahead of March Madness, one of the busiest betting seasons of any year, NCAA President Charlie Baker reiterated his longstanding call for states to ban college prop bets.
While the likes of Louisiana, Vermont, Ohio and Maryland took up that call, bills filed this year in states including New York, Nebraska and Connecticut are seeking to expand college betting to allow state gamblers to wager on more components of collegiate sports.
The conversation continues at a time when predictions markets Robinhood and Kalshi are together offering March Madness events contracts across the U.S. during one of the busiest betting seasons of the year. Also in the background, the illegal gambling scheme tied to Jontay Porter’s NBA ban and federal charges is believed to encompass several college basketball teams.
