NCAA OK's Proposal: Allow Student-Athletes To Wager On Pro, Not College, Sports

By Barry Janoff

UPDATED October 28, 2025: The Div. I Board of Directors today voted to delay the effective date of a rules change to allow student-athletes and school athletics department staff members to permissibly bet on professional sports under NCAA rules. The rule change now will not take effect until Nov. 22.

According to ESPN, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a letter to NCAA president Charlie Baker on Oct. 25, stating that during an Oct. 13 conference meeting, "The message of our Presidents and Chancellors was clear and united: this policy change represents a major step in the wrong direction."

UPDATED October 22, 2025: The NCAA Div. II Management Council today approved “noncontroversial legislation” to permit student-athletes and athletics department staff members to bet on professional sports.

The rule change required approval by all three divisions and will be effective Nov. 1. It applies to any sports betting activities that occur on or after Nov. 1.

The change was approved by the Div. I Cabinet earlier this month and by the Div. III Management Council this week.

The NCAA said it prohibition against betting on college sports — and sharing information about college competitions with other bettors — remains in place. The change also would not impact rules prohibiting advertising and sponsorships associated with sports betting for NCAA Championships.

The council emphasized in approving the rule change that the action is not an endorsement of sports betting, particularly for student-athletes.

It further emphasized the importance of schools using harm reduction strategies and resources provided by the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports and the Sport Science Institute.

The NCAA already engages in significant efforts to provide educational resources available to student-athletes about the impact of sports betting,

"Our action reflects alignment across divisions while maintaining the principles that guide college sports," said Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council. "This change recognizes the realities of today's sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes."


October 8, 2025: At a time when the NCAA has been taking moves to prevent student-athletes from being harassed by people who wager on college sports as well as sharing information about the financial risks of sports wagering, the NCAA’s Div. I Administrative Committee today adopted a proposal that would permit student-athletes and athletics department staff members to bet on professional sports.

The NCAA said its prohibition against betting on college sports — and sharing information about college competitions with other bettors — remains in place. The change also would not impact rules prohibiting advertising and sponsorships associated with sports betting for NCAA Championships.

The committee, which was directed by the Div. I Board of Directors to make the change, emphasized in approving the rule change that the “action is not an endorsement of sports betting, particularly for student-athletes.”

The rule change must be approved by all three NCAA divisions. Divisions II and III are expected to consider the proposal during their respective meetings at the end of October.

If approved by all three divisions, the rule change will be effective Nov. 1, according to the NCAA.

"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," Josh Whitman, athletics director at Illinois and chair of the  Div. I Administrative Committee, said via the NCAA.

"This change allows the NCAA, the conferences, and the member schools to focus on protecting the integrity of college games while, at the same time, encouraging healthy habits for student-athletes who choose to engage in betting activities on professional sports."

The move comes as the NCAA said its enforcement staff's caseload involving sports betting violations has “continued to increase in recent years, in which most of the violations the staff are pursuing involve conduct that directly impacts the integrity of college sports.’

The NCAA said it “uses a layered strategy with integrity monitoring services to monitor more than 22,000 college sports contests each year to detect unusual line activities or other issues.”

The proposal has been backed by the National Council on Problem Gambling.

“"The National Council on Problem Gambling supports the NCAA's effort to modernize its student-athlete sports betting policy to reduce stigma around seeking help for gambling problems,” the organization said via the NCAA. “Strict prohibitions on legal activities often have the unintended consequence of driving gambling behavior underground and discouraging student-athletes from reaching out for help if they develop a gambling problem.

"NCPG recognizes that the prior NCAA policy actively discouraged a student-athlete from seeking help should they develop a gambling problem. The revised policy creates opportunities for students to speak openly about their gambling behavior, enabling access to help when needed.”

The National Council on Problem Gambling said it “stands ready to work with the NCAA and its member institutions to ensure every student-athlete understands the risks of gambling, and that seeking help is always safe, confidential and judgment-free. Together, we can provide responsible gambling education, problem gambling prevention programs and clear pathways to care and recovery."

In September, the NCAA Committee on Infractions released the first infractions cases for former men's basketball student-athletes who bet on their own games and in some cases engaged in game manipulation for sports betting reasons. The enforcement staff is also in the process of alleging similar violations for another 13 student-athletes from six other NCAA schools, with additional investigations ongoing.

"The enforcement staff continues to investigate and resolve cases involving sports betting quickly but thoroughly," Jon Duncan, NCAA vice president of enforcement, said via the organization.

“Enforcement staff are investigating a significant number of cases that are specifically relevant to the NCAA's mission of fair competition, and our focus will remain on those cases and those behaviors that impact the integrity of college sports most directly." 

As part of its umbrella “Draw the Line” platform, the NCAA this year launched “Don’t Be a Loser,” anchored by a spot that ran during the Div. I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments on media partners CBS, TNT, TBS, truTV, ESPN and ABC; as well as online and social media.

The focus of the NCAA’s multi-media PSA campaign was to “call attention to the alarming prevalence of abuse and harassment student-athletes face from angry fans who lost a bet.”

According to the campaign, “Way too often, people are betting on sports, losing, and taking it out on the athletes. Only a loser would harass college athletes after losing a bet. Don't be a loser. It’s time we Draw the Line and put an end to the abuse.”

In 2025 during March Madness, on the women's side, total abuse was down approximately 83%, and betting-related abuse declined 66%.

On the men's side, total abuse increased 140%, while abuse related to sports betting decreased 36%.

Across all participants, abuse related to sports betting was down 23%.

"One of the first things student-athletes told me when I became NCAA president was that they were being harassed online by people who are following or betting on their games," NCAA president Charlie Baker said via the organization earlier this year.

"From Day One, it's been a priority to study this issue, monitor the public interactions, protect student-athletes and allow them to focus on being students and competing at the highest level on the court with their teammates."

The NCAA said it already engages in significant efforts to provide educational resources available to student-athletes about the impact of sports betting, including:

• The NCAA Sport Science Institute released Harm Reduction Considerations for Gambling & Sports Betting in Collegiate Sports earlier this year. The document includes available sports betting resources, including the NCAA Mental Health Best Practices. 

• More than 100,000 student-athletes, coaches and administrators have participated in the NCAA's education efforts with EPIC Global Solutions. 

• The NCAA has launched an e-learning module for student-athletes on problem gambling harms and the integrity risks associated with sports betting. To date, more than 50,000 student-athletes and prospects have watched and completed the module, including the post-learning assessments, spanning six continents, 94 countries and 49 states. 

• The NCAA conducts research to better understand gambling behaviors on college campuses and among student-athletes. Data from one survey indicated that 67% of college students engage in sports betting on a somewhat regular basis.

"Abstinence-only approaches to social challenges for college-aged individuals are often not as successful as appr. oaches that focus on education about risks and open dialogue," Dr. Deena Casiero, NCAA chief medical officer, said via the organization.

“The NCAA will continue to collaborate with schools to help them provide student-athletes with meaningful education and other resources for student-athletes who choose to participate in betting on professional sports. This harm reduction approach gives schools an opportunity to help student-athletes make educated decisions, prevent risky behavior and seek support without fear of impacting their eligibility."

NCAA Efforts Lead To Decline In Betting-Related Harassment Of Student-Athletes

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