The NCAA is considering a significant revision to its sports betting policy that would permit student-athletes, coaches and staff to wager on professional sports, while maintaining the existing ban on betting related to collegiate athletics. This potential policy shift, currently under discussion by the Division I Council, follows a 21–1 vote by the Division I Board of Directors in favor of deregulating the prohibition on professional sports wagering. If approved, the changes could be implemented as early as June 2025.
With legalized sports betting now available in 40 states, the NCAA’s current blanket ban has become increasingly challenging to enforce, often leading to disciplinary actions for minor infractions involving low-stakes bets. By allowing betting on professional sports, the NCAA aims to reallocate its enforcement resources to focus on more serious threats to the integrity of college sports, such as point-shaving and game-fixing.
The NCAA is also exploring the implementation of harm-reduction strategies, including safe harbor provisions and reduced penalties for individuals who seek help for problem gambling. This approach reflects a broader shift in the NCAA’s stance on sports betting, emphasizing education and support over punitive measures.
Lastly, the NCAA and Genius Sports have expanded their partnership, with Genius Sports becoming the exclusive provider of official NCAA game data to licensed sportsbooks for all post-season tournaments, including March Madness, through 2032.
This potential policy change aligns with the NCAA’s recent initiatives to modernize its approach to sports betting, as evidenced by its expanded partnership with Genius Sports to distribute official game data to licensed sportsbooks.
MNAPG’s Take
While MNAPG is officially gambling-neutral, we have concerns that the NCAA is capitulating to the pressures of ever-growing sports gambling. While we applaud the NCAA’s exploration of harm-reduction strategies, we fear the long-term implications of these developments will be serious for college students and athletes.
Some of the real-time data provided by Genius Sports to sportsbook is used to generate and continuously update odds for various in-play prop bets, such as “next goal scorer” or “next touchdown.” Given the high risks involved with prop bets, we think the ready and uniform availability of official data will only feed this concern.