A top NCAA policy-making group on Tuesday, June 24 voted to propose that the association change its rules to allow Division I athletes and athletics staff members to bet on professional sports events, the association announced.
The move by the NCAA Division I Council will not become final until the group concludes meetings on June 25 and will not take effect unless similar governance groups representing Division II and Division III approve the move later this summer. In addition, it will require formal adoption by the Council in October. This past April, the Division III Management Council “took action to support, in concept, noncontroversial legislation deregulating betting on professional sports.”
At that time, by a 21-1 vote, it directed the Council — a panel mainly comprising athletics directors — to: “adopt legislation to deregulate the prohibition on wagering on professional sports and directed the NCAA staff to develop concepts for the appropriate committees to consider regarding a safe harbor, limited immunity or reduced penalties for student-athletes who engage in sports wagering but seek help for problem gambling.” And the Board of Directors has the authority to overrule the Council.
Current NCAA Division I rules say athletes, coaches and administrators cannot “knowingly participate in sports wagering activities or provide information to individuals involved in or associated with any type of sports wagering activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition.”
In 2023, 25 athletes from Iowa State and Iowa were arrested for illegal sports betting. Some of those athletes were alleged to have bet on college games. Many of the criminal charges were based on underage betting.
The NCAA’s announcement said that under the Council’s recommendation, college athletes and staff members would continue to be prohibited from betting on college sports and from sharing information with bettors about college sports events. The NCAA also said it would continue to keep NCAA championships free from ‘advertising and sponsorships associated with betting.’
Many college sports coaches’ and athletics directors’ contracts with schools expressly prohibit their involvement with sports betting of any kind. For example, Alabama’s agreement with football head coach Kalen DeBoer states that he is barred from: ‘Soliciting, placing, or accepting … a bet or wager on any intercollegiate or professional athletic contest whether through a bookmaker, a pool, online, or any other person, means, or method, or permitting, encouraging, or condoning such acts by any member of (his) coaching staff, any student-athlete, or any other person; or:
‘Furnishing … information or data relating in any manner to football or any other sport or to any student-athlete to any individual known to (him) to be or whom (he) should reasonably know to be a gambler, bettor, or bookmaker, or an agent of any such person, or the consorting or associating by (DeBoer) with such persons;…’
The Council’s move comes against the backdrop of a proliferation of legalized sports betting in the United State since the Supreme Court struck down federal limits on the activity in May 2018. It is now legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia, according to the American Gaming Association.
‘NCAA rules prohibiting sports betting at all levels were written and adopted at a time when sports gambling was largely illegal nationwide,’ Illinois athletics director and Division I Council chair Josh Whitman said in the NCAA’s statement. ‘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. Throughout our discussions, the council has remained focused on student-athlete wellness and educating student-athletes about the risks and potentially harmful impacts of betting.’
NCAA President Charlie Baker has been lobbying lawmakers across the country to ban prop bets on college sports events.
In April, the NCAA and Genius Sports announced the extension of a contract under which the firm provides data to sportsbooks. Under agreement, the firm agreed ‘to strengthen integrity protections and promote responsible betting practices, including limiting risky bet types, ensuring compliance and safeguarding student-athletes,’ according to an announcement by the firm.
This story has been updated with new information