Betting on a player to get a double-double in the Final Four or to score 25-plus in the national championship game might soon be banned. The NCAA released a statement from president Charlie Baker on Wednesday denouncing prop bets in college sports and vowed to outlaw the ability to place such wagers as soon as this week.
This comes at one of the heights of the sports wagering season. March Madness is perhaps the premier event on the sports calendar for people to place bets on. Many of those bets are on player props, which can lead to diminishing actions and comments.
“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,” Baker's statement read. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”
The NCAA is wasting no time trying to get this enacted and intends to reach out to prospective states as soon as this week.
“This week we will be contacting officials across the country in states that still allow these bets and ask them to join Ohio, Vermont, Maryland and many others and remove college prop bets from all betting markets,” Baker said. “The NCAA is drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game – issues across the country these last several days show there is more work to be done.”
This is a hard stance the NCAA is taking, but it feels very strongly about this as evidenced by the passionate words by Charlie Baker. It would be a memorable and historic move in the sports gambling era.
Prop bets cause unwanted problems
This isn’t the first time the NCAA voiced its opposition on the matter, but this is the first time it has taken this hard a stance. The fact that it is reaching out to states this week shows it means business when it comes to banning player props.
There has been an increase of suspected harassment toward players from gamblers both in person and on social media. That is part of the reason why the NCAA feels so strongly about it at this time.
The timing is remarkable considering the NCAA Tournament has yet to begin its second weekend of action, where all eyes of the sporting world will be on those 12 college basketball games. This will stick in the headlines throughout the weekend and will be a topic of conversation on some of the tournament game's broadcasts.
The NCAA doesn’t seem willing to just sit around on this, so the days of placing player prop bets on college basketball games are possibly coming to an end. Enjoy it while you can and please wager responsibly.
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