A major change could be on the way to the NCAA’s sports betting guidelines for student-athletes and team personnel.
According to Legal Sports Report, the Division I Council is expected to remove the rules against sports betting on professional sports that are in place for college athletes, coaches, and team members.
The change would not alter the ban against betting on college sports.
Recent changes
The NCAA’s sports betting bylaws prevent anyone directly associated with an NCAA sports team from betting on any sports at any level. The NCAA has talked about changing that for several months.
In April, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors voted 22-1 in favor of advising the council to “deregulate the prohibition on wagering on professional sports.”
A formal vote by the council is expected to come this week. Sports Illustrated was the first to break the news of the potential vote.
Even if the council votes in favor of the change, the rules change would need to be approved by the Division II and Division III councils. But the most opposition is expected to be at the D-I level, where more money is at play, according to a Sports Illustrated source.
“It’s been hotly debated. This is not a slam dunk.”
It wouldn't be the first time the NCAA has made changes to its sports betting regulations. Punishments for individuals found guilty of illegal sports betting were changed over the last year to better reflect the severity of the crime.
Prior to the change, the NCAA had a near-universal one-year loss of eligibility.
Scandals rock the NCAA
There’s a tremendous amount of pressure on all regulatory bodies, including the NCAA, to maintain the integrity of sports.
Numerous scandals in which individuals were found to have manipulated their performances or availability have occurred since sports betting was legalized federally in 2018. That included the infamous Jontay Porter case, which resulted in the Toronto Raptors center receiving a lifetime ban from the NBA for checking himself out of games prematurely, as well as several incidents at the collegiate level.
One of the most public incidents involved a probe at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University, where members of several sports teams were found to have illegally bet on sports games.
In February, it was reported that two Fresno State basketball players bet on their own stats using Daily Fantasy Sports platforms.
In 2023, the head baseball coach at the University of Alabama was fired for sharing privileged information with a friend and known sports bettor, who then attempted to wager $100,000 on Alabama’s opponent.
Moving forward, the NCAA and universities have been advised to treat gambling disorders as mental health issues instead of actions that require sharp punishments. Critics argue this approach will only encourage NCAA student-athletes to participate more frequently in gambling, especially if they are allowed to wager on professional sports without consequence.