As a recreational bettor who enjoys making occasional prop bets on college sports, it’d be difficult to see them banned altogether. Perhaps, though, we’ve reached the point when that needs to be given serious consideration.
Providence College professor Patrick Kelly, who recently launched a course on the risks of sports betting, advocates eliminating all college prop bets.
“We’ve got college athletes who are just trying to go play their sport getting death threats,” Kelly told CasinoBeats. “The NCAA has a gambling problem. Every major league has a gambling problem. Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NBA, they’ve all got gambling problems. They’d better do something about it because they’ve not been as proactive as they need to be.”
While bettors would still undoubtedly wager on college props at offshore books, Kelly believes that not having commercial sportsbook ads for them on television would be a major win. The proliferation of sportsbook ads has undoubtedly helped shape the current zeitgeist of gambling normalization.
“You’re not going to see it on TV, and the ESPN guys are not going to be talking about it as much,” Kelly said.
Abuse of College Athletes Continues to Rise
The most memorable shot of this year’s NCAA Tournament was UConn freshman Braylon Mullins‘s 35-foot desperation shot in the Elite Eight that sent Duke home. Unfortunately and perhaps unsurprisingly, Mullins received threats of violence in the wake of his one shining moment.
“If I ever see you Braylon I’m literally going to f—ing hurt you,” an Instagram user told Mullins. “I will seriously f— you up and make your life a living hell.”
Think about the toxicity of that particular message, which may or may not have been related to a prop bet, and then factor in all of the NCAA games and props offered throughout the season. Banning all college prop bets would help at least reduce the volume of those messages.
“Absolutely start there,” Kelly said. “They did not sign up for getting threats because they missed a foul shot at the end of the game, and that’s what’s happening for NCAA athletes. Professional athletes, OK, they’re professionals, and hopefully the teams and the leagues can do something to help them address that.”
A new NCAA Student-Athlete Needs, Aspirations and Perspectives (SNAP) survey was released during March Madness. One-third of Men’s Division I basketball players reported fans had directly blamed them for betting losses. Additionally, nearly half (46%) reported some form of online, verbal, or physical harassment.
Ohio lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would prohibit betting on college sports three years after the state successfully removed college prop bets in 2024. Will more states follow Ohio’s lead?
For his part, Kelly is trying to ensure his students are aware of all forms of gambling-related harm.
“Anybody who’s paying attention to this issue has a pretty good understanding of what’s going on, and the thing that I’m heartened about with my students is now they do, too,” he said.
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