NCAA President Charles Baker submitted a request to the Ohio Casino Control Commission last Thursday to stop sportsbook operators from offering prop bets for games involving collegiate players.
Baker, whose letter was published by the state agency that oversees sports betting in the Buckeye State, cited three reasons for what he called “good cause” to restrict prop bets on college players. Its primary one was the harassment of student-athletes, which Baker said has taken place on Ohio campuses as part of a what it calls a “significant increase” in such incidents.
The NCAA also stated that such wagers increase the risk of insider information being “solicited to manipulate betting markets,” and that player prop wagers may entice student-athletes to bet on themselves to outperform a prop bet related to their own performance. In its letter, the NCAA cited in-state incidents of harassment and online vitriol Dayton men’s basketball coach Anthony Grant said took place against his players last season.
The NCAA is already dealing with one case in which a player may have bet on himself following last month’s arrest of New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte. Boutte was arrested by Louisiana State Police for underage betting while playing collegiately at LSU and is alleged to have made bets on himself for a 2022 game against Florida State.