NCAA Proposes Loosening the Betting Legislation for Student Athletes

A proposal put forth by the NCAA Division I Administrative Committee would allow student athletes to bet on professional sports. It is a controversial movement (not a law as it needs to be approved of by the other 2 division committees), especially given the woes the NCAA has faced regarding insider betting and its many campaigns to fight underage gambling. But if this proposal is seconded (and thirded) by Division II and III, then it will essentially give college athletes the right to bet on major US sports leagues.

The move is made in the faith that it will add transparency and perhaps shatter some of the undesirable effects that gambling has on America’s young budding athletic talents, but it is a highly contentious and delicate subject that will definitely cause a massive uproar. It is designed to create dialogue and focus on harm reduction strategies for poor gambling behaviors. But is this really the right approach?

How It Happened

The Division I Administrative Committee announced on October 8 that it will permit student athletes and athletics department staff members the right to bet on professional sports. They wouldn’t be allowed to bet on any sports games that the student-athletes have access to, insider information about, or the ability to influence.

So nothing changes there, and they wouldn’t be allowed to bet on themselves or anything college related ever. The Executive team announced that:

“We believe this change represents meaningful progress toward a culture that prioritizes education, transparency and support over punishment”

The Division II and Division III will have time to consider this motion until the end of October. Should they also approve the proposal, then this rule would come into effect from November 1. The rules would keep the advertising and sponsorship restrictions, and the committee made it clear. This is not intended to be an endorsement of sports betting.

What the NCAA Does

The National Collegiate Athletic Association regulates around 1,100 schools in the US (and 1 in Canada), and it oversees around half a million college student athletes who compete in the college sports leagues. Of the 40+ college men’s sports leagues, the most followed are the NCAA basketball, or March Madness, and the NCAA football, or College Football Playoffs. The NCAA manages championships, enforces rules, divides chools into divisions and it also supports a variety of educational, financial and health services for the student-athletes. One of the most important is the NCAA Sport Science Institute.

Gambling Research Study 2024-25

This institute is at the heart of college student athlete gambling research, monitoring behaviors and releasing new studies regularly. On the first of January, the NCAA published its first broad gambling behavioral study since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling legalizing sports betting. It assessed the behaviors of over 20,000 student-athletes across 2024. The study revealed that:

• 52% of men athletes have gambled for money in the past 12 months

That’s down from

• 55% in 2016
• 57% in 2012
• 66% in 2008

The 52% of men who partook in gambling activities were then asked to state when they stated gambling:

• 23% started in college
• 57% during high school
• 20% before starting high school

You’d think that the majority would take to sports betting, but their overall gambling habits suggested otherwise.

• 29.2% played card games
• 22.2% played skill based games
• 21.5% bet on sports

21.3% bought lottery tickets

And for what types of gambling they were first exposed to, again, card games like poker or blackjack came first

• 46% played cards first
• 19% bet on sports first
• 13% played skill based games first

Study Highlights and Student Gambling Behaviors

The argument here being that sports betting is not the primary source of gambling for students. Not when they start, and it is not the mainstream gambling activity that they take part in. The same study showed that it wasn’t the same for women either. Women were more likely to dabble in lottery products and slots than men. Men were more inclined towards skill based games and card games.

38% of the men were most likely to gamble with friends outside the sport, 35% would gamble with teammates or sport-related friends. Only 15% and 12%, would bet alone or with family members, respectively. So the social aspect of gambling was definitely present, but not necessarily attributed to betting with fellow athletes.

The study, if anything, showed a more positive inclination in the betting habits of student-athletes since the last study in 2016 (before sports betting was legalized at a federal level).

Pew Study Insights About Public Sentiment on Legalized Betting

A study published by the Pew Research Center in the same week as the NCAA announcement further backed up the public sentiment turning away from sports betting. 43% of respondents in the study (conducted with 1,100+ participants, randomly selected by the US Postal Service), said that sports betting was bad for society. A big jump from the 34% who said the same thing in a similar study made 3 years before that.

The concerns about this new legislation would be that it opens the doors, legally speaking, for student athletes to bet. The public is wisening to the notion of legalized sports betting, and it has matured considerably in the 7+ years since sports betting was legalized at a federal level. Though the timeline has been littered with scandals. Especially ones relating to student-athletes.

Student Athlete Betting Scandals

You don’t need to look too far back to find scandals. Just in September, the NCAA uncovered a sports betting related game manipulation by 3 Division I basketball players. Mykell Robinson, Steven Vasquez and Jalen Weaver were released from their teams and their schools. They had dabbled with DFS lineups, parlay betting, and bet on each other’s games, sharing betting lines.

Also in September, the NCAA started an investigation against 13 former student athletes from 6 different schools, Arizona State, Temple, Eastern Michigan, New Orleans, North Carolina A&T, and Mississippi Valley. Another case, not relating to student-athletes but affiliated members, was the 2023 Alabama Baseball Scandal. Brad Bohannon, the Alabama coach, was found to have given insider information. He received 3 years of probation, a $5,000 fine, and a 15-year show-cause order banning him from any athletically related position.

Will the Proposal Pass Into Law

It looks like it will, especially as this is coming from the top, the Division I Administrative Committee. The second and third divisions have meetings later in October, and will decide whether they back the proposal or not. Besides simply allowing student-athletes and affiliated parties to bet on pro sports, it will also come with a greater educational program and integrity monitoring. The NCAA will be in a better position to monitor the athletes’ gambling behaviors, gaining insights into the emotional triggers, causes for gambling, and any negative effects it can have on participants.

Players will get more freedoms, and those who do participate in sports betting (1 in 5 of the 52% who gamble), won’t have to hide their sports betting activities. But it will not stop the institution’s plight in protecting the well-being of student, the college sports integrity, and the welfare of young gamblers.