NCAA to advocate for stricter sports gambling regulations, protect athletes

The NCAA announced Wednesday it will be advocating for stricter sports betting laws and regulations for what it says will protect the integrity of its sports and student-athletes.

Sports betting laws have been considered throughout the country, and passed in a majority of them as more than have of the U.S. has laws that permits gambling on sporting events. The NCAA says that while most states have "robust protection and integrity provisions, many do not."

"The NCAA is making changes to help student-athletes make smart choices when it comes to sports betting, but given the explosive growth of this new industry, we are eager to partner with lawmakers, regulators and industry leaders to protect student-athletes from harassment and threats," NCAA President Charlie Baker said in a statement. "Some states have great policies on the books to protect student-athletes from harassment and coercion and to protect the integrity of the games, but as more states pass or amend laws, more needs to be done."

What sports betting provisions will the NCAA advocate for?

Provisions the NCAA wants to implement in states where betting is allowed are:

• Mandatory reporting hotlines for gambling authorities to report behavior to law enforcement.
• Increased penalties for bettors who harass student-athletes .
• Mandatory education for operators to help identify harassment.  

There are some stricter rules the NCAA wants to sports betting as a whole, such as more regulations on preventing people age 21 and younger from betting, as well as more information on the problems that can arise from gambling. The NCAA also wants revenue made from sports betting to go toward "education to support the higher-risk college student population, including student-athletes."

Sports gambling issues in the NCAA

The advocacy of stricter sports betting laws comes as the NCAA has dealt with several investigations of gambling within athletes and coaches. Former Alabama head baseball coach Brad Bohannon was fired after he was involved in suspicious betting of the team. Cincinnati baseball also had an investigation involving two staff members. Iowa and Iowa State had several athletes under investigation for possible sports betting, and seven current and former athletes were criminally charged.

In July, The Associated Press found there have been 175 infractions of it sports betting since 2018.

NCAA considering reexamining gambling penalites

In addition to gambling advocacy, the NCAA is considering making changes to penalties athletes face for sports betting, not including ones made on their own teams. The potential changes could be:

• Eliminate penalties that result in student-athletes being withheld from competition − regardless of the dollar value of the wagers and including bets placed on other sports at a student-athlete's school − on first offense. Instead, athletes would be required to get education on sports wagering rules and prevention. 
• Second offense could potentially involve withholding penalties, depending on the dollar value of the bet/bets.
• Third or subsequent offense could result in a loss of one full season of eligibility.

The new guidelines would need to be approved by the NCAA council to be implemented.