College athletes will still be prohibited from betting on any sport in which the NCAA sponsors a championship after an eleventh-hour push to rescind a proposed rule change reached the necessary two-thirds threshold.
Facing a 5 p.m. ET Friday deadline and needing 241 schools to submit paperwork preventing college athletes from betting on professional sports, the NCAA reached the necessary two-thirds majority, according to a statement.
“After a procedural 30-day period, two-thirds of Division I member schools have voted to rescind a previously approved rule change that would have allowed student-athletes and athletics department staff members to legally participate in sports betting on professional sports only,” the NCAA said. “Because sports betting rules are common legislation, the ban on all forms of betting — for sports in which the NCAA sponsors a championship — will remain in place for all three NCAA divisions.”
A source told CNN Sports the NCAA hit 241 teams voting to rescind the rule at 4:30 p.m. ET, 30 minutes before the deadline.
The NCAA long had held firm prohibiting gambling on any sport in which it crowned a champion, aiming to prevent anything that could compromise the integrity of the game and stop harassment from bettors. The NCAA also argued that, because of its relationships and friendships with former athletes who turn pro, college players and staff could be privy to inside information that could compromise them.
But citing the growth in legal sports betting nationwide – now permissible in 38 states – and arguing that sports betting was now available to regular college students, the NCAA agreed to change its policy. Toeing the line between endorsing gambling on sports and allowing it, the NCAA argued it was readily available to traditional students and therefore shouldn’t be forbidden for athletes.
Initially, the rule was meant to change on November 1, but when 75% of the cabinet members did not vote in favor, it triggered an automatic 30-day rescission window.
In the days since, sports gambling has come under heightened scrutiny. In the last month, federal authorities have arrested two Major League Baseball players (Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz), as well as Portland Trail Blazers head coach and basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA journeyman Damon Jones – all accused of taking part in separate gambling schemes.
On the same day the decision was announced permitting wagering on professional sports, the NCAA announced that a former Temple basketball player and two staff members had bet on college and professional games and the player, Hysier Miller, included multiple parlays on his own team. The NCAA permanently banned Miller.
He is now the 14th player from seven different schools to be caught in the crosshairs of gambling activities and banned.
The NCAA also recently permanently banned six college basketball players for game-fixing and just this week released a study that found 36% of Division I college basketball players have been subjected to harassment on social media from angry bettors..
The NBA has asked its partner sportsbooks to consider prohibiting prop bets that it has identified as most susceptible to manipulation and NCAA president Charlie Baker has, since last year, asked sportsbooks to remove prop bets for college athletes.
Fourteen states have banned prop bets on college athletes. Additionally, the national governing body recently partnered with Genius Sports, which will require sportsbooks to drop wagers on individual performances if they want access to real-time stats during the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and other championship events.
