IN Purdue University Slaps Ban on College Sports Betting

• Blanket policy bans all Purdue members from betting on college sports
• The measure focuses on Purdue teams’ games, not general betting
• Indiana’s sports betting handle hits a record first-month high in the meantime

Students, faculty and trustees are among the parties who won’t be able to legally place a wager on a Purdue University teams’ games in Indiana.

Purdue Says No to College Betting on Own Teams’ Games

Purdue University, Indiana has voted a campus ban on all sports betting activities, including and extending to the students, staff and faculty at the university. The ban prevents all aforementioned parties to make wagers on any upcoming games that involve Purdue’s teams. With the football game coming up on October 19, Purdue will face off Iowa, but no bets will be allowed.

So far, the U.S. has seen sports betting legalized across 13 states, but similar concerns have been expressed by a number of lawmakers and academics. Yet, even Purdue President Mitch Daniels believes that the policy is just a temporary measure as opposed to a permanent solution. Here is what he said, cited by Journal & Courier:

I think it’s inevitable that other places have to be in the asking-questions stage, at least starting to look at this.

There was a sense that we’d better move fast – this thing is on top of us. It’s as much an expression of principle and general sense of values as it is expected to be some sort of hard and fast rule, where we’re out to punish people. … This just may be the first stab, as we learn more and see what happens.

Mis-Trustee-ing Sports Betting

A number of trustees have openly said that they are uncomfortable with the idea of allowing staff and faculty participate in sports betting contests. Mike Berghoff, a trustee has raised the issue of how students would interact.

What would it be, Berghoff asked, to be next to someone in class who had just placed a wager on your athletic performance? Following a vote on Thursday, October 10, Purdue now doesn’t allow such betting to take place.

While more details need to be thrashed out before a final and enforceable draft is applied, the game against the game on October. As a result, estimated 82,000 people will be legally stopped from placing wagers on Purdue team games, including 63,000 students and 19,000 faculty members.

Indiana Sports Betting s Big

Meanwhile, Indiana has posted solid results for its first-month sports betting reaching $35 million – more than any other state in the U.S. in the first month of operation. The state beat Illinois to the punch, siphoning off a fair chunk of the overall revenue.

Meanwhile, Purdue seems serious about upholding the new framework and the university will make sure that contractors nor trustees break the guidelines.

Betting on college competitions has always been an uneasy topic for some lawmakers, who have preferred to legalize the industry without permitting college betting. Yet, the interest in college games is soaring.

Similarly, offshore sportsbooks have offered an alternative for state residents in places where college betting isn’t permissible. In the case of Purdue University, however, it’s not a matter of finding a betting agency.

Rather, the policy unambiguously states that no party listed in the new document can legally bet on a Purdue team game. However, Purdue is expected to face ‘major legal obstacles,’ in upholding and enforcing this measure.