NCAA Open to Student-Athletes Being Able to Wager on Pro Sports

The NCAA has been debating whether to allow student-athletes to be able to wager on professional sports. The NCAA sees no reason for student-athletes to be prohibited from placing a flutter on their favorite pro sports, and any restrictions around this may soon be dropped at long last.

The NCAA is Theoretically OK with Student-Athletes Gambling

In fact, the Division I Administrative Committee has already approved a change that needs to be approved by Division II and Division III, and should it all go according to plan, new rules would be arriving on November 1, 2025.

While integrity concerns remain, student-athletes will not have to worry about their genuine interest in sports gambling being misinterpreted as collusion with nefarious parties. Besides, the NCAA’s games are under tight scrutiny, making it particularly hard to actually manipulate outcomes and go undetected.

“The Administrative Committee was clear in its discussion today that it remains concerned about the risks associated with all forms of sports gambling but ultimately voted to reduce restrictions on student-athletes in this area to better align with their campus peers,” NCAA athletics director at Illinois and chair of the committee, Josh Whitman, said.

The change is important as it would allow students to learn about a beloved pastime and practice it legally and safely, without the need to face negative consequences because of their interest. Interestingly, though, the change in position is not necessarily the same as an endorsement for student-athletes to gamble on sports.

Match-fixing: The Bigger Issue for College-Level Sports

If anything, the committee pitching the proposal is cautious about encouraging this. However, the NCAA is also keen to strike a fair balance between what could potentially undermine the game’s integrity and what is reasonable.

Many student-athletes have faced investigations into alleged match-fixing, which remains the association’s main focus and concern, whereas pro sports are just an outlet of the inherent interest in sports most student-athletes have.

Prominent cases such as those of Steven Vasquez, Jalen Weaver, and Mykell Robinson indicate that the NCAA should be more concerned about student-athletes fixing games between themselves rather than prohibiting them from accessing a popular pastime that has no bearing or poses any danger to the local ecosystem.