War on College Sports Prop Betting?

^{In states like Ohio, sports bettors are prohibited from wagering on an individual college player’s performance. The hope is that such bans will protect student-athletes from getting pressured to underperform. (Image: Steven Garcia / ZUMA Press / Alamy)} 

Ready to pluck down a wager on the star player of your favorite team in this year’s March Madness?

Not so fast.

An increasing number of American states are acting to ban wagers on college athletes. In February, the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) made Ohio the 10th state to forbid all proposition bets on college-level sporting events. 

With the endorsement of Ohio Gov. Michael DeWine, the ruling strikes down gambling on individual players participating in college athletics. Other types of wagers – notably point spread and totals betting – will not be impacted and shall continue, at least for now. How lawmakers will react to continuing pressures from the NCAA is anyone’s guess.

“Today, you're lucky to get down $500 anywhere on a player prop in college sports. So, it would be tough at that level to get a player to tank.”
– Professional sports bettor Bill Krackomberger a.k.a. “Krackman” 

Proposition bets (a.k.a. “props”) refer to wagers on an individual athlete's performance rather than the whole team’s. Popular props include wagers on players scoring a set number of points, or accruing other individual statistics. While not nearly as common among casual bettors, many serious sports gamblers consider props to be the most attractive options on many betting menus. Moreover, public interest and prop activity has been increasing in states where such activity is permitted, including Nevada. 

Much of the appeal of prop bets can be traced to the emergence of fantasy sports, which test contestants’ knowledge of individual players and their skills.

Ohio’s recent decision to ban prop betting stemmed from growing concerns about some student-athletes in that state being harassed by sports gamblers. Earlier this month, the NCAA, which is the governing body overseeing most college sporting events, sent a formal letter to the OCCC expressing its support for restrictions on betting on players.

“The data is clear that student-athletes are getting harassed by bettors,” NCAA President Charlie Baker told the commission. “Sports betting without appropriate controls poses real risks to the well-being of student-athletes and to the integrity of collegiate competition -- risks which are heightened by individual prop bets.”

Regulatory Pressure

Given growing fears and concerns, it didn't take long for lawmakers and regulators to step in and take action. The college props betting ban went into effect in Ohio on March 1. It appears to be no random coincidence that such regulatory action came on the eve of college sports’ biggest national attraction – which is March Madness. Licensed operators were instructed to void all such wagers immediately (including any futures betting on college athletes).

“I have determined that good cause supports the NCAA’s request to prohibit player-specific prop bets on intercollegiate athletics competitions because the NCAA’s request will safeguard the integrity of sports gaming and will be in the best interest of the public,” OCCC Executive Director Matt Schuler said in an official statement.

Was Ohio justified in taking such draconian measures? What does this action mean for legal sports gambling overall, particularly on college sports? Will more states follow their lead and impose their own bans on props – or worse, consider a ban on all college sports wagering?

“Do we sports gamblers really need a daily menu with thousands of player props on every starting player in every college game? Isn’t that all just a bit too much?” 
– Anonymous Sports Bettor (inside the Resorts World Sportsbook)

Are Bans on College Prop Betting Justified?

Let’s agree that no college athlete should ever be pressured or harassed. This is certainly the case for players who determine the financial outcomes of sports bets. Authorities at all levels have an obligation to protect these amateur competitors from any and all abuse.

Protecting the integrity of all games is also a serious concern. Certainly, college basketball has confronted a number of embarrassing scandals in the past connected to game fixing, most notably the CUNY point-shaving scandal of 1950-51, and even more recently with Arizona State shaving points in several games during the 1993-94 season. Oddly enough, those scandals occurred when sports gambling was mostly an illegal activity, with little or no transparency when it came to who the real oddsmakers were and the betting lines (run by organized crime).

The risks of a player throwing a game – sometimes called “tanking” – might be overblown. Even some of the most successful sports bettors agree that given the limitations on wagers and close scrutiny on athletes and games, gambling-related scandals aren’t likely. Possible – yes. Probable – no. 

"If the betting limits were higher for college player props, then I'd be a bit worried about corruption," said Bill Krackomberger (a.k.a. "Krackman"), one of sports gambling’s most respected high-limit bettors and media commentators. “But currently, you're lucky to get down $500 anywhere on a player prop in college sports. So, it would be tough at that level to get a player to tank … and when you get something as big as the NCAA March Madness, which is under an intense microscope, I don't see it being an issue."

Will Other College Sports Betting be Impacted?

The list of states with legal sports betting that also prohibit prop-related wagering on college sports includes: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and now Ohio.

The impact of these state bans appears so far to be minimal, at least financially speaking. For instance, although sports wagering has been legal in Ohio for over a year, data shows college player prop betting to be miniscule. Since sports wagering began in January 2023, the OCCC estimates Ohio sportsbooks received $104.6 million in bets on NCAA player props in 2023 (which is the total betting handle), or just 1.35 percent of the total amount wagered last year. That’s not going to impact many bettors nor their bankrolls.

Also, some sportsbooks may reluctantly approve of these changes, including restrictions on props. This is particularly true for smaller sportsbooks with fewer staff that won’t have to constantly monitor incoming wagers and worry as much about vulnerabilities. 

College Sports Prop Betting in the Crosshairs

• Ohio became the 10th U.S. state to ban all wagering on player props in college sports.
• Lawmakers and regulators in other states are likely to consider similar bans.
• Prop betting on college sports isn't widely popular, but is considered by many experts to offer the best opportunities for profit.
• Fears of corruption and scandal may be overblown due to low betting limits and close monitoring by schools and regulators.
• The NCAA will continue to push for restrictions when gambling on college sports -- bans on college sports prop betting could be just the start. 

Smaller operators have felt market pressures to offer extensive betting menus very similar to what the major operators provide to the betting public. This has proven difficult for some. Keeping up with bigger companies is indeed challenging, and reducing the constant stress points of thousands of additional wagering options daily could be a positive step forward for them.

What may be even more at stake here is principle. The counterargument against restrictions is simple – and just as compelling.  Consider the fact that most of the fears and warnings associated with the spread of legalized sports betting, including gloom-and-doom forecasts about the threats of corruption in college athletics, have not materialized.  

Since 2018, legalized gambling has spread throughout the United States. Yet there have been no additional CUNY- or ASU-like scandals in college basketball. Opponents of legal sports gambling have been wrong. Moreover, for the NCAA to lecture anyone about the corruptive influence of money is, well, laughable.

Will Other States Ban College Prop Betting?

Presently, sports gambling is legal in 38 states (plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico). However, each state makes its own laws and rules as to what's legal and what isn't.

Some states allow wagering on in-state college sports teams, while others forbid it. For instance, New Jersey is one state that allows most types of wagers on college sports, but also bans wagering on any college teams located inside the state. Many other states also forbid wagering on in-state colleges.

Similarly, prop betting on college players has been left up to each state. And now more than 1/4th of legal sports betting states have jumped on the college prop-betting ban bandwagon. 

So what’s ahead? That’s impossible to predict, but fears could be justified. The pushback against college prop betting continues to gain momentum. Encouraged by their regulatory successes, proponents of such bans are likely to take the fight into more states – and likely win. The impetus to protect college athletes from external pressures is strong, and no organization is more powerful than the NCAA, especially in states where college football and basketball are king. 

By contrast, sports gamblers have no lobbying organization. Even the casino industry is unlikely to fight much on behalf of such a small sliver of market share interest.

As a sports bettor, I can willingly accept bans on college props as a reasonable compromise. Recent actions such as what occurred in Ohio might be a happy medium. Nonetheless, given the NCAA’s history and frequent public pronouncements against all forms of gambling on its events, we should expect more legal and regulatory battles ahead.

Best guess: Banning college props could be an indication of more intense scrutiny of legal sportsbooks and the imposition of further restrictions to come.

Always opinionated and often controversial, Nolan Dalla has been writing and betting on sports, even when it wasn’t legal. This year, he had three entries in the 2023-24 Westgate NFL SuperContest that ended up finishing 2nd, 4th, and 6th out of 1,301 total entries, winning more than $190,000. Nolan's sports picks have been posted free at his website (nolandalla.com) where he's enjoyed 9 out of 12 profitable seasons. In his free time, he loves great restaurants, fine wine, and petting cats. He also goes on massive tilt when losing, and is known for some epic, profanity-laden rants.  Contact him at: nolandalla@gmail.com