NCAA ‘Deeply Concerned’ By Launch of College Football Prediction Markets

The NCAA has released a statement regarding the expansion of prediction markets into college football, expressing that it is “deeply concerned” about the risks posed.

Robinhood joined Kalshi in offering markets on NFL and college football this week. In addition, the platform filed lawsuits against gambling regulators in Nevada and New Jersey, who have opposed the platform’s expansion into sports.

Kalshi had already launched its college markets, and the NCAA had remained silent so far. However, Tim Buckley, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at the NCAA, released a statement, commenting: “Sport integrity is paramount for the NCAA, and we are deeply concerned by unregulated and unprotected markets that pose a threat to competition integrity and student-athlete safety.”

Robinhood Claims Markets are Licensed & Legal

Responding to the NCAA statement, JB Mackenzie, VP and GM of Futures and International at Robinhood, told Casino Beats: “Contrary to the NCAA’s suggestion, sports prediction markets are not unregulated and unprotected. Robinhood’s event contracts are offered through our federally registered and regulated Futures Commission Merchant, Robinhood Derivatives. Federal regulations provide important customer protections and market integrity safeguards, and we do not believe that these event contracts threaten competition integrity or student-athlete safety.”

Robinhood offers access to the markets through a partnership with Kalshi, which is also licensed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

It is unclear what direction the NCAA will take regarding the markets. In the comments posted by ESPN’s David Purdum on X, Buckley added: “We will continue to analyze developments of this market and work with industry leaders to help ensure guardrails and regulations to protect NCAA competition, student-athletes, coaches and officials.”

The CFTC has been reluctant to issue definitive guidelines regarding sports markets since Kalshi launched them in January of this year. The regulator looks unlikely to put the brakes on anytime soon. Additionally, active court cases involving Kalshi and now Robinhood may take considerable time to reach any conclusion.

Prop Prediction Markets Could Lead to Further Complications

A Robinhood spokesperson confirmed to Casino Beats that, for now, the company will only offer match winner and futures markets. Kalshi has also self-certified touchdown prop bets, which could cause greater backlash if opened on college games.

Many states restrict sportsbooks from offering prop bets on college sports, with NCAA President Charlie Baker urging other states to follow suit. Ohio, Louisiana, Vermont, and Maryland all banned the markets last year at the request of Baker.

Baker noted that betting on individual performances of college athletes leads to a rise in harassment and abuse, stating: “The horrific messages we are seeing across online platforms is absolutely unacceptable. Angry fans are sending numerous abusive messages and threats to student-athletes, publicly and privately, because of lost bets placed on the athlete’s performance in a game.”

A rise in pro athletes involved in betting scandals has also prompted Ohio’s Governor to call for a ban on prop bets across all sports. Notably, two Cleveland Guardians players are currently on leave as investigations continue into suspicious betting activity.

If platforms such as Kalshi and Robinhood began to offer markets on individual player performances in pro and college sports, it could lead to further cases of spot fixing. College players may be particularly susceptible to temptation, given that they are not paid outside of NIL deals.

There have been moves to further restrict sportsbooks on college campuses, which could also lead to students seeking out alternative platforms for “betting.”

Kalshi’s touchdown prop markets have not yet appeared live on the site, but they are likely to come soon as the platform looks to maximize trading for the new football season.

If Kalshi and Robinhood expand into prop betting for college football as well, we are likely to hear more NCAA statements. However, the organization is limited in its ability to slow the growth of these companies.