Multiple sources confirm that momentum is building for the NCAA to lift its ban on athletes, coaches, and staff betting on professional sports. If approved by the Division I Council, this move could come as soon as late June.

Why the NCAA Ban Is Being Reconsidered

Currently, NCAA rules prohibit any athlete, coach, or staff member from wagering on professional sports with a collegiate equivalent, meaning no bets on the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, or even pro golf and tennis.

This policy, rooted in concerns about integrity and the potential for insider information to sway outcomes, has become increasingly difficult to enforce as sports betting has exploded in popularity across the United States.

In a recent case, Baylor University staffer Sam Hancock breached NCAA Bylaws 10.01.1 and 10.3. Hancock acknowledged he had placed nearly 2,950 daily fantasy sports wagers between July 2019 and September 2024, totalling approximately $46,000. 113 of his wagers were placed on Baylor student-athletes or athletes competing against Baylor.

The investigation concluded that the staffer had not used insider information or affected any results of matches he wagered on. Hancock’s offenses were deemed a Level II Standard violation. Should he return to a college in an athletics-related position, he faces a two-year show-cause order and a future two-week suspension from all activities during his first year of employment.

With legalized betting now available in nearly 80% of the country, the NCAA’s enforcement teams have been bogged down by a flood of minor infractions, often for bets with little relevance to college sports integrity.

The Division I Board of Directors recently voted 21–1 to advance a rule change that would deregulate professional sports wagering for college athletics participants.

By narrowing its focus, the NCAA hopes to protect the integrity of its competitions better while freeing resources to address issues that truly impact the college game.

What Would Change and What Wouldn’t

If the ban is lifted, athletes and staff would still be barred from betting on NCAA-sponsored events, but could legally wager on professional leagues like the NFL or the NBA.

This change would align NCAA policy more closely with the realities of the modern betting landscape and reduce the compliance burden on the NCAA and member schools.

The NCAA is also considering new measures to address problem gambling, including safe harbor provisions, limited immunity, or reduced penalties for student-athletes who seek help for gambling issues.

The shift reflects a broader “cultural and philosophical recalibration” within college sports, as experts note that the world of sports wagering in 2025 vastly differs from a decade ago.

NCAA Considers Shifting Focus to Targeted Integrity Measures

The NCAA is on the verge of a significant policy shift as its Division I Council weighs removing the longstanding ban on college athletes, coaches, and staff betting on professional sports.

The Division I Board of Directors has already voted 21-1 to deregulate pro sports betting. The proposal is being forwarded for further discussion, with a final decision possible by late June.

Importantly, the prohibition on wagering on college sports would remain in place, maintaining a clear line to protect the integrity of collegiate competition.

If adopted, the new policy would allow the NCAA to focus on safeguarding college sports from integrity risks while also considering reduced penalties or safe harbor provisions for athletes who seek help with gambling issues.

This marks a pragmatic response to the widespread legalization of sports betting and the realities of modern compliance challenges in collegiate athletics.

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The House Appropriations Committee approved House Bill 639 by a 20-1 vote on Monday, clearing a necessary hurdle as state lawmakers seek to increase the sports betting tax from 15% to 32.5%.

Rep. Neil Riser’s proposal would align the rate for online sports betting with other gaming products, including video draw poker machines. It would also generate millions of dollars in additional tax revenue for education, healthcare, and sports programs.

NCAA Schools Stand to Benefit From Louisiana Tax Increase

Among the biggest beneficiaries of the proposal would be the Supporting Programs, Opportunities, Resources, and Teams Fund—often referred to as the SPORT Fund—which is set to receive 25% of revenue from mobile sports betting taxes.

The fund is designed to benefit NCAA Division I athletes, with an estimated $2.8 million administered by the Louisiana Board of Regents to each of the following institutions: LSU, Louisiana Tech, Grambling State, McNeese State, Nicholls State, Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, and University of New Orleans.

Another 25% is earmarked for early childhood education programs. The measure also requires 3% to be distributed to the Louisiana Postsecondary Inclusive Education Fund, benefiting students with mental and physical disabilities.  

Notably, the bill is closely linked with HB 594, which was proposed by Rep. Chance Henry and calls for creating a flat tax on insurance premiums. 

Lofty Projections for Annual Revenue

Louisiana online sports betting went live in January 2022 and is now home to eight operators: bet365, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics, and FanDuel.

According to the Louisiana Legislative Fiscal Office projections, the proposed tax increase could increase annual sports betting revenue from $59.3 million to approximately $190.1 million.  

Since their debut, operators have taken in $1.2 billion in sports betting revenue from $10.1 billion in wagers. In 2024 alone, Louisianans bet $2.9 billion on sports, generating $313 million for operators.

Tax Increase Proposal Not Unprecedented

Louisiana is far from the first state to seek increases to its sports betting tax.

Ohio has already hiked its rate from 10% to 20%. Before lawmakers struck down his proposal, Gov. Mike DeWine sought to double the rate to 40%. Maryland, meanwhile, increased its rate to 20%, down from Gov. Wes Moore’s initial proposal of 30%.  

Increases have also been discussed in Kansas. The state’s current 10% sports betting tax is among the lowest in the United States.

By contrast, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island have the country’s highest sports betting tax rates, at 51%. 

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While serving as Director of Resource Development, Hancock admitted to continually betting on NCAA events, including wagers involving Baylor athletes.

The university initiated the case against Hancock on 31 August 2024 after an automated monitoring system alerted them that he was using the fantasy platform PrizePicks for impermissible betting. Following an internal interview and self-report, the university and NCAA enforcement then opened a collaborative investigation into the matter.

In response, Hancock acknowledged he had placed 2,950 daily fantasy sports wagers between July 2019 and September 2024, totaling nearly $46,000. Of these bets, 113 were placed on Baylor student-athletes or athletes competing against Baylor, which mirrored incidents by Fresno State’s men’s basketball players.

The investigation concluded that Hancock had neither used insider information nor affected any matchups he bet on. Still, his actions violated NCAA Bylaws 10.01.1 and 10.3.

NCAA Betting Rules and Bylaw Violations Explained

These NCAA bylaws actively prohibit sports betting by any university athletics personnel, and the NCAA made an example of Hancock, emphasizing his willful disregard for the rules despite being issued mandatory compliance education at Baylor.

Although Hancock’s violations were deemed a Level II Standard violation, the case factored in his aggravating infringements, including his intent to profit from NCAA event wagering and his consistent rule-breaking activity. However, the NCAA also accepted mitigating factors such as his immediate acceptance of responsibility and the lack of major prior violations.

As part of the penalties handed down to Hancock, he now faces a two-year show-cause order effective until April 2027. The consequences will mean that during this time, any NCAA institutions that choose to employ him must enforce a number of restrictions, including mandatory gambling counseling and NCAA rules education seminars.

A secondary penalty also includes a future two-week suspension from all activities during his first year of employment, should Hancock choose to return to a university in an athletics-related position. During this period, he will be forbidden to contact all staff members and student-athletes or participate in the development or ticketing operations.

The NCAA also issued a formal public reprimand and censure by releasing the negotiated resolution agreement. In addition, following the review, the Division I Committee agreed that the penalties issued to Hancock were appropriate and consistent with NCAA bylaws.

Baylor University’s Response and Institutional Outcome 

Baylor University’s infringements were processed as a separate Level III violation. This was due to the institution’s proactive role in identifying the issue and quickly reporting the violations to the NCAA. As a result, no additional allegations or breaches were levied against Baylor.

It also declared that Hancock’s actions directly violated the principles of honesty and sportsmanship demanded of NCAA-affiliated personnel. Furthermore, the NCAA hopes that the public nature of the punishments will act as a deterrent, reiterating its tough stance on gambling and the consequences of breaching those standards.

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Bringing in revenues of £4.6m, a 122 per cent increase on the prior year, and generating positive EBITDA of £600,000, a primary driver was higher than expected growth of the region’s sports betting, in addition to an elevated level of casino cross-selling.

Driving Q1 revenue to record levels, the swelling of Gan’s sports betting in the Garden State was also nudged along by the NFL’s Super Bowl and NCAA’s March Madness college basketball tournament.

Dermot Smurfit, CEO of GAN, commented: “We are very pleased with our performance through the first three months of 2019 with a record top-line figure, and return to a positive EBITDA.

“We knew that the initiatives set in place throughout 2018 positioned the company for a strong first quarter and fiscal year 2019.

“We remain focused on landing new clients, and expanding upon existing contracts with clients, in addition to preparing ourselves for a rapidly expanding market due to an acceleration in sports betting-led online gambling regulation in the United States.”

Looking ahead to the rest of 2019, Gan stressed the outlook “continues to remain highly positive,” as growth across real money gaming and higher than expected uptake in regulated sports wagering markets could lead the organisation “to a record year”.

Pennsylvania igaming continues to fall on the radar, with Gan expecting the launch alongside its Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment owned Parx Casino partner when the market goes live, which it stresses is “expected to commence before the end of June”.

Furthermore, the company is also set to launch Paddy Power Betfair’s FanDuel internet sports betting and casino gaming in Pennsylvania in the coming weeks, as it positions itself for “substantial growth” across both verticals.

Concluding its outlook, Gan emphasised that it’s also “ increasingly confident in the long-term prospects for intra-state real-money gambling in the US, and believe the opportunity of internet sports betting may now serve as a catalyst for other US states to regulate both internet sports betting as well as internet gaming, with recent regulatory progress noted in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Montana and Tennessee”.

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Located in the city of Albuquerque, USBookmaking has been detailed as Isleta’s provider on the project, deepening its own roots within the state, after inking a similar such deal with the land of enchantment’s Santa Ana Star Casino and Hotel in October last year, becoming the region’s first sports betting provider in the process.

Vic Salerno, president of USBookmaking, said of the latest moves being made within New Mexico: “We are proud to be selected by Isleta Resort and Casino to provide sports betting services for their casino. We offer outstanding service for our clients, and our selection by Isleta validates the tremendous value that USBookmaking contributes.”

Lauding the US Supreme Court ruling on PASPA as “a victory for those pushing for more gaming options,” Isleta states that the new offering is scheduled to make its grand appearance sometime in late summer.

Harold Baugus, CEO of Isleta Resort and Casino, commented: “We’re very excited to be answering the requests of our guests to bring sports gambling to New Mexico. We look forward to unveiling all of the exciting possibilities to our patrons.” 

New Mexico doubled its sportsbooks last month, when the Pueblo of Pojoaque owned Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino debuted its offering just in time for the NCAA’s annual March Madness getting underway.

Upon opening its own sportsbook in October, Santa Ana Star Casino and Hotel CEO John Cirrincione, explained why such a step had taken place despite legislature not expressively legalising sports wagering: “The tribal-state compact allows tribal casinos in New Mexico to operate all forms of class III gaming. Sports betting is class III gaming. The Pueblo of Santa Ana is a sovereign nation, with its own laws allowing all forms of class III gaming in its casino.”

Due to the compact, reports indicate that bets will not be permitted on games involving the University of New Mexico or New Mexico State University.

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Accepting $372.5m in bets, just short of the £385.3m in January, the Garden State’s sportsbooks have now welcomed $2.3bn in wagers since legalisation in June of last year.

Revenue for the month rose to $31.7m, a 150 per cent leap from £12.7m the previous month, with the FanDuel offering at Meadowlands racetrack keeping its market leader status with $17.5m in revenue, over double February’s $8m.

Of Atlantic City’s land-based establishments, it’s the DraftKings fueled Resorts Digital that came out on top, rising from $3.7m to $7.2m month-to-month.

Dustin Gouker, lead sports betting analyst for PlayNJ.com, explained: “The first week of March Madness generated more action than the Super Bowl, and even the first four games attracted enough betting to rival a busy weekend of NFL regular season football.

“That is unquestionably a massive success and shows clearly the importance of college basketball to the Northeast’s legal sports betting markets.”

Adding: “Online sports betting will continue to drive the market, and product innovations will likely bear much more fruit in the near future.

“New Jersey’s sportsbooks already offer the most advanced online product of any legal sports betting jurisdiction, and bettors have continually responded.”

Land-based entities continue to contribute the lion’s share of the state’s overall revenue, seeing a 15.7 per cent increase to $223.1m (2018: $192.9), nudging total gaming win to $293.9m, a 34.5 per cent rise from $218.4m.

Borgata continued its dominant position with $59.4m, a 1.4 per cent drop year-on-year from $60.2m, with the region two newest entries Hard Rock and Ocean Resort seeing growth from the previous month as they brought in $24.5m and $15.1m respectively.

New Jersey’s igaming offering also continued to undergo impressive growth, seeing a 53 per cent surge for the month to $39.1m (2018: $25.5m).

It’s the Golden Nugget that retains its position on top spot via a 64.4 per cent yoy rise to $14.2m (2018: $8.6m), ahead of Resorts Digital for the second straight month, whose figure finished at $8.4m, a significant jump from 2018’s $4.2m.

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Publishing its newest study on current and future sports betting behaviour, the survey was conducted on behalf of the AGA by Heart + Mind Strategies between November and December 2018, and comprised a total sample of 6,777 interviews among various subgroups.

Headline findings from the new report sees almost eight in ten US citizens say they support legalising sports betting within their state, with in excess of seven in ten emphasising an importance of placing bets through legal and regulated providers, stressing that it is only acceptable to use those providers.

However, where casino sports betting is currently legal and regulated, only 56 per cent of individuals quizzed were aware that that is the case in their respective jurisdiction.

Furthermore, it was revealed that only 41 per cent of Americans know that placing a bet with a bookie is illegal, with security and ease of placing bets places as the top two priorities for future sports wagering participation.

Bill Miller, president and chief executive officer of the American Gaming Association, said of the latest report: “This is one of the most comprehensive studies ever conducted on the attitudes and behaviours of sports bettors in America.

“AGA’s research unveils new insights into this critical and growing segment of the gaming market, confirming what we’ve known for a long time: Consumers want the ability to wager in safe, regulated markets.

“With two-thirds of states having taken steps to legalise sports betting, we’re clearly making progress to meet that demand.”

Published as part of the AGA’s first ever sports betting executive summit, the AGA also revealed the level of interest from bettors in the varying sports available as betting options, with the NFL coming out on top, ahead of the MLB and NCAA college football.

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PGAM has been designed with three key strategic goals, to increase public awareness of problem gambling, to increase the availability of prevention, treatment and recovery services and to encourage healthcare providers to screen clients for problem gambling.

Bringing together a wide range of stakeholders, from public health organisations and advocacy groups to gambling operators, the NCPG stresses that it aims to “work collaboratively to let people know that there is hope and help for this addiction”.

Also represents the month that the annual March Madness reaches a crescendo, the NCAA hosted single elimination tournament is expected to see in the region of $10bn of placed bets, with calls to the National Problem Gambling Helpline also expected to spike 40 per cent.

Keith Whyte, executive director of NCPG, commented: “March Madness is a time when we see an increase in gambling and more outreach for our services. PGAM is important to me – and NCPG as a whole – because we want to help individuals with problem gambling, and this is the peak time for raising awareness of the issue.”

PGAM also includes gambling disorder screen day, set for March 12, 2019, in collaboration with the Cambridge Health Alliance, which is designed to support health care providers in the identification of gambling disorders.

Entering the sixteenth year that the NCPG has named March as PGAM, the organisation states approximately two million, or one per cent, of US adults are estimated to meet criteria for gambling addiction, with a further four to six million, two to three per cent, for gambling disorder or problem gambling.

Janet Miller, executive director of the Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gambling, a state affiliate chapter of NCPG, added: “Let’s not assume anyone is immune from the effects of this addiction. This year together we can help thousands of families learn about this addiction and the available resources of helplines, treatment, and counselling.”

Whyte is set to speak at the inaugural Betting on Sports America, being held at New Jersey’s Meadowlands Exposition Center from 23-25 April, 2019, on a panel titled ‘tackling problem gambling – what is effective?’

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