Photo by THE ALL STATE.
With March Madness in full swing, the NCAA president, Charlie Baker released a statement urging all states nationwide to ban prop bets on college sports.
Prop bets, or proposition bets are side wagers betters can place on single players during a game. Examples of prop bets are how many points a player will score in a game or how many threes a team will hit in the first quarter.
In a social media post, Baker stated “Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed.”
Many student and professional athletes have reported being targeted online by betters after failing to cash out on the bets placed on them. You have to also consider that student-athletes have to go to class after games and mingle with classmates who potentially blame them for losing money.
The integrity of the game is also a big reason why prop bets are a bad idea in college sports. Imagine a broke college student with a prop of 12 points in one game. It’s not a stretch to say that a player can be tempted to throw that prop and cash in on a few hundred dollars.
Maryland, Ohio and Vermont have already banned college prop bets and other states are starting to become open to bans after experiencing issues and player harassment growth just as fast as the gambling industry.
I love sports betting. As a fan, it makes watching the game more fun and makes me feel like I have some skin in the game. That said, it should be reserved for professional sports to protect student-athletes and the competitive integrity of college sports.
