The NCAA wants to work with state legislatures across the country in an effort to better protect student-athletes from harms associated with betting. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
Plans are in place
The NCAA plans to push state legislatures to change laws to better protect student-athletes from betting-related pressures, specifically coercion or harassment from sports bettors. The organization wants to ensure that the integrity of its contests is maintained and that state laws properly address the ramifications of problem gambling.
Not all of them have appropriate integrity provisions and protection policies
She pointed out that although 38 states have passed various laws to legalize sports betting over the past five years, not all of them have proper integrity provisions and protection policies. The NCAA drafted some legislative proposals after surveying student-athletes, reviewing regulations and laws across the country, and speaking with industry stakeholders.
Main sector
NCAA President Charlie Baker noted the “exponential growth” of the legal sports betting sector and said the NCAA is eager to work alongside industry leaders, regulators and legislators to put appropriate protections in place. He stressed that some countries are already doing a great job in this regard, while other countries need to make more efforts.
Inconsistency leaves student-athletes vulnerable and makes the playing field uneven
It’s not just states that have already legalized sports betting that the NCAA will be working with. It is also intended to include these provisions in any relevant pending legislation. All of the proposals are in place in at least one U.S. state, but the lack of consistency leaves student-athletes vulnerable and makes the playing field unlevel, according to the college sports organization.
Some key suggestions
one of Big proposals from the NCAA It is for gambling regulators to have reporting hotlines that allow people participating in college sports to report any coercion or harassment to law enforcement.
The proposals are intended to protect student-athletes, college athletic personnel, game officials and coaches from betting-related pressures.
The NCAA wants to impose tougher penalties on any bettors who engage in harassment of athletes and on all sports betting-related advertisements for displaying relevant information about problem gambling and support help lines. Another proposal is to allocate some of the sports betting revenue to college students’ education.
Speaking about the importance of these measures, Vice Chair of the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Morgan Wynn, said: “…It is imperative that we take a proactive approach to protecting student-athletes from the potential for negative involvement with bettors.”
