Indiana Gaming Commission Allows College Player Prop Bets to Remain

• The Indiana Gaming Commission today rejected a motion from the NCAA to prohibit college player props in the state
• Commission members say the issue is a legislative concern
• The NCAA spoke in front of the gaming commission asking for the prohibition to help better protect student athletes from sports betting harms

College player prop betting will remain in Indiana sports betting markets moving forward.

The Indiana Gaming Commission today unanimously denied an NCAA request to prohibit college player prop bets from its sports betting market. Commission members felt the appropriate setting for this issue was in front of the Indiana legislature, not the Indiana Gaming Commission.

“I believe this is a legislative question based on the evidence that’s been presented or not presented. We have laws, harassment, intimidation, stalking, we have the laws enforced. We have regulatory mechanisms. As emotional as the argument is I cannot say it meets the criteria under Rule 4 of our administrative code with respect to how I read the intent to the integrity of sports wagering. This is a legislative question. Come Jan. 1 they could put a bill in front of the governor’s desk and prohibit it, that easy. I would defer to them,” Indiana Gaming Commission member L. Scott Pejic said.

Continued Discussion From June

The NCAA submitted an official petition to the Indiana Gaming Commission in June to prohibit college player prop bets from its sports betting landscape. Currently, 19 other states have instituted prohibitions on these types of bets.

Indiana currently prohibits in-game college player prop betting.

The Indiana Gaming Commission tabled the motion until its this week’s meeting for more research. The NCAA again sent representatives to the commission to stump for a potential prohibition on college player prop betting in the Hoosier state.

“Our request to the commission is simple and modest. The IGC has already banned in-game college prop bets. We only ask that you take one additional step forward to protect integrity and support the well-being of student athletes and ban pregame player props as well,” Clint Hangebrauck, managing director of enterprise risk at NCAA, said at today’s meeting.

In June, the NCAA submitted three letters from Butler University, Indiana University, and Purdue University supporting the potential college player prop prohibition.

Question for the Legislature

Indiana Gaming Commission member B.R. Lane said the question regarding student harassment and harm from player prop betting would better handled by the state legislature.

Lane spoke with gaming regulators from Missouri, Ohio, and Louisiana within the last three months in preparation of today’s discussion. It is unacceptable for a student athlete to be harassed, she said, but there is a bigger issue at play.

“I see so much criminal activity that we’ve kind of glanced over that has been discussed and uncovered today. We have a great legislature in Indiana and I know they would want to protect student athletes. I don’t understand, NCAA, if the situation is as serious as you’ve made clear to us today, why you’ve not addressed it in that way. You would have all of our support, I think, in this room,” Lane said. “We have a bigger issue here, and the legislature would be the appropriate place to address this.”