NCAA Shouldn’t Backtrack on Pro-Sports Betting Rule

The clock is ticking on the NCAA’s new rule allowing student-athletes and athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports.

The rule was originally scheduled to take effect on November 1, but a period of reconsideration was introduced for schools to vote on whether the rule should be rescinded. That three-week period ends today at 5 p.m. ET.

As of last night, one report cited sources as saying that 188 Division I schools had voted in favor of rescinding the rule, falling short of the 241 needed to overturn it. If that holds, students and staff members of legal age (21) will be able to bet on pro sports tomorrow morning.

“I was part of the early committees that talked about that, and my position is still very clear,” UCLA Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Dr. Timothy Fong told CasinoBeats. “This is a legal activity for adults 21 and older in most states, and some, 18 and older. This is no different than buying a cigarette or a drink of alcohol.”

Fong is also co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program and advocates a progressive approach that will benefit students in the future.

“Instead of trying to complete prohibition, it makes sense to focus on education, prevention, resources, and proper training,” he said.

Meet the ‘Normalization of Gambling’ Head-On

That’s a voice of reason in a sea of negativity. The answer doesn’t come in running away from the reality of today’s ubiquitous sports betting environment, but rather in facing it head-on.

“Society has called for and allowed the normalization of gambling,” Fong said. “We ought to then call for normalization of education, prevention of harm, and having people understand what these relationships are, rather than trying to shut it down.”

The recent proliferation of betting scandals has occurred during the NCAA’s prohibition on betting on professional sports. The reality is they’ll continue regardless of today’s voting outcome.

Student-athletes are still not allowed to bet on college sports, whether their own or otherwise. That’s an important element when it comes to protecting the integrity of collegiate competition, but it doesn’t ensure that some bad actors won’t cross the line.

Education can go a long way toward prevention. Colleges and universities need to develop, implement, and enforce policies related to gambling, rather than hoping the problems will go away.

“We have very clear policies on alcohol use for students, for drug use for students, student code of conduct, but we do not have a written student code of conduct when it comes to gambling for any athlete or any student at all,” Fong said. “We still need a university-sanctioned gambling policy that has some teeth to it.”

The NCAA got this one right, and it shouldn’t backtrack now. There’s nothing easier than criticizing the NCAA, and many have again done so in attacking this new rule.

The bottom line: adults of age should be able to make their own decision on whether to wager on professional sports.

“To prohibit something that’s legal is a very challenging thing,” Fong said.