The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is proposing to let its college athletes, as well as coaches and staff, bet on professional sports in the future.
After the Division I Council introduced a proposal to change the rule on Tuesday, a meeting on Wednesday concluded without a change of course, meaning that council members will vote on the idea in October.
Proposal would limit wagering to professional sports
The current NCAA rule says that athletes and staff cannot knowingly participate in sports betting or provide information to individuals associated with any type of sports wagering activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition.
However, Council Chair Josh Whitman said in a statement that the rules banning sports betting at all levels “were written and adopted at a time when sports gambling was largely illegal nationwide.”
“As betting on sports has become more widely accepted across the country, Division I members have determined that further discussion of these sports betting rules is warranted, particularly as it relates to the potential distinctions between betting on professional versus collegiate sports,” he added.
SBC Americas understands that the Division I Council has not necessarily endorsed actually making the change yet, but is ready to put the issue to a vote this fall. The change would also need to be approved by both Divisions II and III.
The NCAA stressed in a statement that its ban on betting on college sports would remain in place, as would prohibitions against sharing information about college events with bettors. The college sports association also stressed that by suggesting that college athletes be able to bet on pro sports, it is not endorsing sports betting behaviors for college athletes.
Well-being concerns still exist
Betting behavior is at the heart of the issue.
SBC Americas understands that the major concern that remains in Division I is student-athlete well-being, particularly in light of the fact that schools are now free to begin paying their athletes directly after a multi-billion-dollar legal settlement was formally approved earlier in June.
Moving forward, each school can pay its athletes within an annual cap. The new payments will be in addition to scholarships and other benefits the athletes already receive, such as the name, image and likeness (NIL) revenue they have been entitled to earn since 2021.
A source told SBC Americas that some Division I leaders are concerned about opening up the avenue for college athletes, who will now have considerably more money in their pockets to spend legally gambling on sports.
However, in the NCAA’s statement this week, the organization’s chief medical officer highlighted that an abstinence-only approach may not work as well as educating someone in a safe space.
“Deregulating professional sports betting may provide schools an additional opportunity to implement harm-reduction strategies, which can be more effective and have long-term benefits not seen with abstinence-only approaches. Harm-reduction strategies include education, stigma reduction and acknowledging actual behaviors,” said Dr. Deena Casiero.
“By meeting student-athletes where they are, schools may be more effective at preventing, identifying and supporting student-athletes with problematic gambling behaviors. Regardless of the change, schools are encouraged to use the many sports betting resources already available.”
The NCAA offers its own gambling harm reduction programs and resources and also works with lived-experience experts EPIC Global Solutions and Genius Sports on topics including harm reduction and integrity.
