NCAA Pres Rethinks Prior Support for Sports Betting

Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA and the former governor of Massachusetts, played a key role in legalizing sports betting in the state. After signing the vertical into law, however, Baker has come to know some of the downsides associated with the industry.

Baker Was Unaware of How Big Betting Was Going to Become

In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Baker admitted that he didn’t expect sports betting to become as big as it currently is. When he was appointed as president of the NCAA, he visited roughly 1,000 student athletes, inquiring about their experience with betting.

Baker learned that the proliferation of sports betting and the quick adoption by consumers in Massachusetts led to significant abuse and harassment against student athletes.

In addition to that, Baker understood that the legalization of sports betting and college sports betting in particular has attracted many young bettors, including those who play the game. In any case, he remarked that wagering has completely changed how younger people interact with sports.

Baker reminisced about his youth when people in college would regularly chatter about sports. He noted that nowadays, things have become much more complex, with guidance and inside information flowing about and creating a “completely different dynamics.”

Mobile Betting Changed the Game

Baker attributed the shift in attitude to the unexpected impact of mobile betting. He noted that when Massachusetts legalized sports bets, many expected it to be similar to casino gaming, where players would go to land-based sportsbooks to gamble.

Instead, mobile betting has blown traditional betting out of the water, completely changing the vertical. Baker attributed some of this progress to the continued innovation by top companies, such as DraftKings and FanDuel. He also noted that ads have attracted many new players.

In any case, Baker regretted the effect betting has had on younger athletes, since college prop bets, in particular, have led to a spike in harassment. Although Baker was happy that the NCAA had been able to encourage several states to prohibit this kind of offering, he noted that many do not fully understand the danger.

I hate the fact that we’ve caught a whole bunch of young people engaging in this stuff, which just sucks for everybody. But our message has been, ya know, “If you do this, we will catch you.”

Charlie Baker, president, NCAA

Baker noted that the NCAA’s monitoring program has covered some 2.75 million athletes in the past 5 years alone.  

Baker Expresses Some Concerns About Prediction Markets

The interview also addressed prediction markets as the new emerging vertical. Baker expressed certain concern about this novelty, saying that he doesn’t consider prediction markets to be regulated at all. He noted that their nature as CFTC-licensed businesses allows them to offer betting-like products even in markets that do not currently allow betting.

Baker added that FanDuel and DraftKings’ decision to exit the American Gaming Association seems to suggest their interest in the sector.

The NCAA president concluded that the prediction markets case “is going to get worse unless somebody does something about it.”