The top gaming regulator in New York is saluting the NCAA for their crusade against college player prop betting — and says the Empire State has no plans to start allowing those wagers.
New York State Gaming Commission Chairman Brian O'Dwyer sent a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker on Monday commending the college sports sanctioning body for "raising the visibility" of concerns related to college player prop betting.
Baker and the NCAA have spent the past few months lobbying state lawmakers and regulators to remove college player props from their legal sportsbooks because of worries about harassment and threats being directed toward the student-athletes by angry bettors, among other things.
“With the commencement of legal sports wagering in our state, the New York State Gaming Commission made a policy determination to prohibit individual athletic-based proposition betting within any collegiate event, as we shared the same desire to insulate student-athletes from potential harassment regarding their performance,” O’Dwyer wrote. “We are pleased that many states have followed our lead and have since adopted such a similar restriction.”
Safe to say that New York shant be allowing college player prop betting anytime soon https://t.co/mNYjJ0wodf
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) April 16, 2024
The New York regulator also made it clear that they do not intend to alter their current stance on college player prop betting in the state, which is that it’s not allowed.
“As regulators of the largest sports betting market in the United States, we continue to believe the prohibition of college proposition betting on student-athletes is appropriate,” O’Dwyer wrote. “New York State appreciates your efforts to help implement this important protective measure nationwide.”
The support from the regulator of the New York sports betting market will likely be welcomed by the NCAA as it continues to push states to restrict college player props.
There are still 20 states that offer those markets in some form: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Differences of opinion
Some of those states have said they will consider the NCAA’s request, and in at least one, New Jersey, lawmakers have proposed legislation to ban college player props in statute. In Montana, however, the state lottery politely turned down the NCAA.
Yet one New York lawmaker is looking to expand the options at the state’s regulated sportsbooks, not restrict them further.
Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. proposed legislation in March that would amend the Empire State’s gambling laws to explicitly permit wagering on season-long props and awards futures, although it says nothing specific about college player props.
