College athletes will not be allowed to bet on pro sports, according to an NCAA decision designed to keep the integrity of college sports intact.
Previously, the NCAA had approved a measure that would have allowed college athletes to bet on sports like the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball and the NHL on Nov. 1, but there had been a delay in enacting that measure. The most recent decision takes that option away from college athletes.
One of the arguments behind preventing the collegians from wagering on pro sports is that many top professional athletes came from the college ranks and did so recently. As a result college and professional athletes may have continuing relationships and anything that puts college sports in jeopardy in the eyes of the public is clearly something the NCAA wants to avoid.
A simple question like “how are you feeling” from a college athlete to a pro player could be deemed as getting inside information on an injury status. When that question is about another player who is not even present, alarm bells could go off in the minds of those who are looking to see if players are seeking inside information.
Plethora of gambling sites makes it difficult to monitor
Many of the legitimate sports gambling sites don't want to take wagers from any NCAA athletes because they want to avoid the appearance of any impropriety. These sites want to protect their own reputations and prevent the public from thinking that any event can be impacted by outside influencers.
While a well-known college athlete would not be able to bet while using his or her own name, nothing can prevent a so-called friend from making bets for that athlete. Betting services would be alarmed at huge wagers from a college student on a particular site, but if smaller wagers were spread around to multiple sites, little could be done to prevent such an action or activity.
