NCAA President Wishes Sports Betting ‘Stayed in Las Vegas’


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NCAA president Charlie Baker appears frustrated over the rapid growth of sports betting in the United States

Baker has been at the forefront in trying to get a nationwide ban on NCAA sports betting player props involving student-athletes. 

“I wish sports betting had just stayed in Las Vegas,” Baker said Monday at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics conference, according to Fox Sports.

Baker: Athlete harassment must ‘stop’

The NCAA wants to ban prop betting on student-athletes in order to prevent both harassment and student-athletes placing bets on themselves

According to college football writer Matt Brown, Baker said that some of the harassment student-athletes have been facing regarding prop betting has been coming from their own friends and classmates. Ohio, Louisiana, Maryland and Vermont have all agreed to the ban (the final three on their own). 

“This all has to stop,” Baker said. “So far, we’ve managed to work with four states to shut down prop betting on college sports.” 

No money from NCAA betting

Before going to the NCAA, Baker was the governor of Massachusetts when the state passed sports betting legislation in 2022

The legislation meant tax revenue and licensing fees for the Bay State.

The NCAA, however, is largely unable to cash in on sports wagering after initially doing so. 

Senator: End sports betting deals

Four schools cut ties with sportsbook sponsors after Sen. Richard Blumenthal called for them to do so

“The opportunity for lucrative deals has caused some casinos and sportsbooks to target universities, despite the very real harm gambling poses to students, many under the age to legally gamble,” Blumenthal wrote while asking 66 institutions to provide information about their marketing relationships with sportsbooks. 

Recent NCAA sports betting scandals

Meanwhile, the NCAA has had to deal with a multitude of sports betting scandals. 

The University of Alabama fired baseball coach Brad Bohannon amid a sports wagering probe. Former LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was arrested on charges involving illegal sports wagering. 

The Temple University men’s basketball team is currently being investigated for possible point shaving. That investigation could be wrapped up this summer. 

Twenty-six student-athletes involved in the tainted Iowa sports betting probe have filed a lawsuit against the state and a pair of its agencies. Four Iowa State athletes had their cases dismissed. 

Photo by Steve LeBlanc/AP