Ohio is Banning College Proposition Bets on Player Performances
As numerous states have legalized sports betting across the country since the Supreme Court overturned a virtual ban on the activity outside of Nevada, there have also been some concerns about potential integrity issues. At the same time that leagues have embraced the industry, they have also issued various punishments for players for violating gambling policies over the last couple years.
The NCAA has some particular concerns about the impact on college athletes and recently made that known with a recommendation to Ohio gaming regulators. The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) announced last week that player-specific prop bets would be removed as wagers allowed in the state.
The move came after a request from Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and the NCAA, and followed University of Dayton basketball coach Anthony Grant’s own comments on the issue in January 2023.
“These young men, we’re asking them to sacrifice quite a bit for us to be able to do what we do and enjoy what we enjoy,” Grant said. “So I’m just asking all the Flyer fans just to understand that we’re dealing with 18-, 21-, 22-year-olds, and it’s about them. This is about them. When we have people that make it about themselves and attack kids because of their own agenda … it sickens me.”
Protecting Players & Game Integrity
Grant noted that athletes were now regularly facing backlash regarding bets on games allowed in Ohio betting. DeWine agreed with that and asked regulators to make the move.
“The Ohio Casino Control Commission took quick action to protect student athletes from unnecessary and potentially harmful threats,” DeWine said Friday. “Amending rules to focus bets on the team and away from individual athletes will improve the marketplace in Ohio and properly focus betting attention on the teams and away from individual student athletes.”
A prop (also known as a proposition bet) allows bettors to wager on a player’s individual statistics in a game. They have become popular in recent years, especially during football where handicappers often wager on stautics like a quarterback’s passing yards, a wide receiver’s yards, and more.
Ohio betting operators have until March 1 to phase out the wagers. Other types of bets on college athletics will still be legal in the state. OCCC executive director Matt Schuler believes that barring individual player props “will safeguard the integrity of sports gaming and will be in the best interests of the public.”
Several other states have made similar moves to block these types of wager. Now with Ohio, nine states have banned individual NCAA player props including Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
