NCAA closer to letting athletes bet on pro sports

The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee on Wednesday adopted a proposal to allow student-athletes and athletic department staff to bet on professional sports, a shift in a long-held policy that had become difficult to enforce with the spread of legal sports betting in the United States.

Divisions II and III are expected to consider the proposal in their respective meetings at the end of October, the NCAA said. If approved by the lower divisions, the rule would go into effect Nov. 1.

Athletes and athletic staff have been prohibited from betting on any sport, professional or collegiate, that was sponsored by the NCAA. Betting on college sports will remain off limits.

The potential change comes as the NCAA has faced an increasing number of alleged betting violations by student-athletes in recent years. In September, the NCAA announced that a Fresno State men’s basketball player had manipulated his own performance for gambling purposes and conspired with two other players in a prop betting scheme. The NCAA is investigating 13 additional student-athletes from six schools regarding potential gambling violations dealing with integrity issues.

“The enforcement staff continues to investigate and resolve cases involving sports betting quickly but thoroughly,” Jon Duncan, NCAA vice president of enforcement, said in a release announcing the proposed rule change. “Enforcement staff are investigating a significant number of cases that are specifically relevant to the NCAA’s mission of fair competition, and our focus will remain on those cases and those behaviors that impact the integrity of college sports most directly.”

NCAA officials emphasized that the rule change is not an endorsement of sports betting and that they remain concerned with the risks associated with all forms of sports gambling. The change was supported by the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

“Abstinence-only approaches to social challenges for college-aged individuals are often not as successful as approaches that focus on education about risks and open dialogue,” Dr. Deena Casiero, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, said in the release.