As the NCAA men’s basketball tournament gears up for the Sweet Sixteen, the college sports world received some big news.
On Wednesday morning, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that NCAA president Charlie Baker wants to officially ban prop betting on college athletes. To be clear, the majority of states with legalized college sports betting already have some sort of restriction on prop bets. A handful don’t allow props altogether, while others may prohibit props on in-state teams. Illinois doesn’t even allow betting on in-state college teams in any capacity. But it’s still news.
Here’s what Baker had to say in a statement shared by Wojnarowski:
“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.”
It sure feels notable that this announcement comes in the same week that the NBA announced a gambling investigation into big man Jontay Porter. The Toronto Raptors’ two-way player finds himself in hot water after large sums of money were won after several unders hit in two games he left early this season. We also can’t forget the ongoing saga between Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter.
With more and more states giving the green light to sportsbooks, major sports establishments were also going to have to adjust. With that in mind, this might only be the start of bigger conversations regarding how to uphold the integrity of the game and manage difficulties moving forward.