Should the NCAA allow athletes to gamble on pro sports? Ohio players, coaches weigh in

By Anthony Leonardi/Kent State NewsLab

The NCAA considered changing its rules this fall to allow players and staff to bet on professional sports, but decided against it after pushback from conference commissioners. 

However, local athletes and coaches wonder if the change will happen in the future anyway. 

“Here’s the question we’re all asking ourselves,” said Andrew Goodrich, athletic director at the University of Akron. “If we make this illegal, and then we find that 10 student athletes are participating in illegal gambling, do I have to kick them all off the team?” 

Goodrich said that many intercollegiate leaders he has spoken with are against the concept of gambling in college, but they realize that people may do it anyway. 

“If we vote to make this illegal, it is incredibly difficult to prevent it from happening, and if it does happen a lot on your campus, there’s incredible risks, not just to the student athletes, but to the universities as well,” Goodrich explained. “For that reason, they’re saying, listen, I might get in a lot of trouble with this, so let’s just make it legal.”

Online sports gambling has spiked in popularity in recent years. In 2018, sports gambling was illegal in most of the United States, with the exception of Nevada. But today, more than 30 states have fully legalized sports betting. 

On Oct. 8, an NCAA committee originally voted to change a rule that would have allowed its student athletes and staff to gamble on professional sports. The NCAA Division I cabinet voted first to allow sports betting. Divisions II and III signed off on the new rule two weeks later. 

Despite these cabinet rulings, a commissioner pushed back, citing concerns about athlete integrity and exploitation. After Sankey’s objection, the NCAA delayed and then ultimately rescinded the rule change.

Although there has been an increase in sports betting nationwide, about 43% of American adults say sports betting is bad for society and 40% of them say that it is bad for sports, according to the Pew Research Center.

Goodrich expressed concerns about potential habits forming among his athletes. 

“Listen, I was a college baseball player, but I did need to be able to pay my rent at the end of the month,” he said. “If you make mistakes with gambling, you might not be able to pay your rent at the end of the month, and you could end up living in your car.”

Raven Lewis of the Ohio Gambling Helpline said that some of the most common mistakes that young people make when gambling is the mismanagement of their funds. 

“I always advise that people should set a limit,” Lewis said. “I hear all the time about young people blowing all of their money on bets, and having nothing to fall back on.”

As of 2024, 10% of all bets in the United States were placed by the 20-24 age group. In a 2023 survey, the NCAA found that nearly 67% of all college students were wagering on sports events. 

George Sell, a football player at Wake Forest University, is also concerned about potential habits being formed. 

“It’s all so new to us at this age,” Sell said. “I think it is dangerous because it is right on our phones, and you can place bets from anywhere. Then you factor in all the ways they [the sportsbooks] give you boosts to bet with. I think it can hurt people if they aren’t careful.” 

But Hunter Hopperton, a 22-year-old football player at Kent State University, said that he is not too worried about a potential gambling rule change. 

“As long as they aren’t gambling on college sports, I think it will be fine,” Hopperton said. “I think that things could get messy if they have insider information, though.” 

Goodrich is also concerned about college athletes who go on to play professional sports. Professional athletes are generally still forbidden from gambling.  

“Let’s say you are a very successful intercollegiate athlete, then you move to the pro level,” he said. “Well, the pros can’t gamble on pro sports, but you’ve already been gambling on pro sports. At what point do you make that change and go cold turkey?”

The proposal to change the rule was rescinded on Nov. 21, but the discussions involving gambling still loom over college sports. 

“Trust me, this is not easy,” Goodrich said. “I think theoretically, you can be against it. But logistically, I can’t paint myself into a corner where I’m going to get in trouble, because it appears this is pretty ubiquitous across the country.”

This story was originally published by the Kent State NewsLab, a collaborative news outlet publishing journalism by Kent State students.