The NCAA’s approach to sports betting in 2025 was indicative of the dynamic nature of the gaming industry, with a proposed rule change to the organization’s gambling policy that would eventually dissolve.
Back in June, the NCAA’s Division I Council introduced a proposal to amend the organization’s bylaws to allow wagering on professional sports by student-athletes, coaches and staff. The NCAA’s previous stance toward gambling prohibited sports wagering by all players, coaches and team officials on events sponsored by the NCAA. The NCAA considered pro sports betting while maintaining its ban on college sports wagering.
The idea of the NCAA shifting gears regarding its stance toward pro sports wagering came as a surprise as a former student-athlete who has seen the NCAA move slowly on making major changes, which was evident in the organization’s reluctance to allow student-athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness. The DI Council’s proposal to allow pro sports wagering showcased a change in perception toward sports betting that was ultimately short-lived. Council members proposed the rule change as the NCAA’s active bylaws “were written and adopted at a time when sports gambling was largely illegal nationwide,” said Council Chair Josh Whitman in June when the proposal was introduced.
NCAA councils approve rule change but recession period ends progress
The proposal to allow pro sports wagering sparked conversations within the NCAA, leading to the DI Administrative Committee voting to adopt the proposal, which also required approval from committees in Division II and Division III. The proposed rule change garnered support from the DI Student-Athlete Advisory Committee but received pushback from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, who sent a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker requesting that the rule change be rescinded, casting doubt on widespread support from NCAA leadership.
Sankey sent the request after councils from all three NCAA divisions voted to adopt the proposal to allow pro sports betting, but an NCAA protocol led to the disintegration of the proposal. The NCAA allows DI schools to vote on whether to rescind an approved rule change within 30 days if a rule proposal doesn’t receive at least 75% of votes from the DI Board. The proposed rule change to allow pro sports betting received less than 75% of the votes, which initiated a recession period that requires at least two-thirds or more of DI schools to vote against the rule change for it to be rescinded. Last month, two-thirds of the membership schools voted against lifting the NCAA’s ban on pro sports betting, putting an end to an arduous rule change proposal process that seemed promising but failed.
NCAA gambling violations impact decision-making
The NCAA considering changes to its gambling policies in 2025 was encouraging as the organization aims to adhere to the interests of its student-athletes, but the governing body’s failure to embrace wagering by its student-athletes comes when gambling violations are currently providing NCAA enforcement staff with a heavy workload. The gambling infractions made it easy for the NCAA to not move too quickly when it comes to making changes to its wagering rules. Since the start of 2025, the NCAA has imposed gambling-related penalties on over 15 student-athletes and staff across more than six institutions. The penalties, which include permanent NCAA ineligibility, involve men’s basketball programs. The violations included providing insider information and manipulating play.
The NCAA gave making a change to its sports betting rules a shot, but given the current landscape of college athletics, the effort to allow pro sports betting was too much, too soon. The NCAA may end up changing its mind again in 2026, to no one’s surprise.
