The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is currently investigating 13 former collegiate basketball players for allegedly attempting to fix bets for financial gain. The investigation is ongoing, and it has raised concerns among critics about the accessibility of sports gambling.
A student athlete is prohibited from betting on any collegiate sport under NCAA rules. Violating this rule would result in loss of NCAA eligibility, but the NCAA is considering further punishment since the students allegedly tried to fix the bets. NCAA president Charlie Baker, stated, “The NCAA monitors over 22,000 contests every year and will continue to aggressively pursue competition integrity risks such as these.”
The consequences of the scandal are still to be determined. The students, if found guilty, will be permanently banned from the NCAA, but all the players under suspicion have already graduated. The six schools involved in the investigation will not receive any penalties.
Sports gambling has seen a dramatic rise over the past few years, with 38 out of 50 states now legalizing it. It is also easier to access than ever before due to online sportsbooks.
Spartan Senior Leo Parker stated, “Prop bets on collegiate athletes are the cause of this incident, and they could be banned.”
Prop bets are when the sportsbook sets a line for how well a player will perform, and the bettor chooses whether they think the player will go over or under. These bets are popular and profitable, so banning them would be met with heavy criticism.
This investigation has added to the growing number of sports fans who oppose gambling. The nationwide growth in sports gambling has led to an increase in betting scandals. Jontay Porter has been permanently banned from the NBA due to a similar incident, and multiple NFL players have faced yearlong gambling suspensions.
Despite this investigation and growing backlash against sports betting, it is extremely common throughout the U.S. Even though athletes are forbidden from betting on their sports, commercials from online sportsbooks run throughout live games.
The NCAA is still investigating the players and will continue to monitor their games closely. Sports betting as a whole remains on the rise. Flutter Entertainment paid $4.1 billion for a 95% stake in FanDuel in 2020. Sportsbooks consistently turn a profit and are not going anywhere for now.