Maryland Says No to Single-Game College Props

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency has arrived at the decision after carefully scrutinizing the market and ruling against proposition or prop bets on single games, and specifically college props.

Maryland Becomes Next State to Drop College Prop Bets

Although a lot of the prop college bets will be culled, not all will go. For example, the Heisman Trophy betting will remain, as it’s seen as an outcome based completely on merit and not possible to undermine it by match-fixing.

In a statement, the regulator said that it wants to see the betting surrounding college betting in the state focused on the games themselves, not individual athletes, as this leaves risks. It’s not just a matter of match-fixing, though, as many student-athletes have also experienced harassment.

“The decision brings Maryland in line with other states that have disallowed these wagers to protect college athletes against potential harassment. The intent is to focus college sports wagers on the teams rather than on individual athletes,” the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency said.

Is Maryland going it alone? This is hardly the case. The Ohio Casino Control Commission has similarly decided against allowing prop bets on college contests.

End Abuse by Ending Its Source, Argues the NCAA

Part of this has to do with the fact that the NCAA has seen increasing abuse of student-athletes and has been actively working with private companies to tackle harm across social media channels.

The organization has also suggested that college betting props be withdrawn as a viable market, seeing it as a great way to further reduce harm. Not least, there have been scandals involving coaches and athletes betting, but those have to do with match-fixing more so than abuse.

Even on its own, college betting has been a contentious topic, with many regulators worrying that student-athletes would be much more tempted to generate income by collaborating with match-fixers. These fears have largely not materialized, though, encouraging other states to follow suit and allow college betting, but stop short of prop bets.

With Ohio and Maryland now out of the picture, however, the only four places that allow prop bets on college sports are Kansas, Michigan, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C. Given how much support there already is for the issue, though, this may be changing very soon.