NCAA D-I Votes to Allow Student-Athletes, Staff to Bet on Professional Sports

• The Division I Administrative Committee voted to approve a proposal to allow student-athletes, staff to be on professional sports
• The rule change must also be approved by NCAA D-II and D-III before going into effect
• If approved by all three divisions, the rule change will go into effect on Saturday, Nov. 1

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The NCAA seems to be on the precipice of a massive sports betting change for student-athletes and staff.

The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee today adopted a proposal to allow student-athletes and athletic department staff members to bet on professional sports. The D-I committee first proposed the rule change this past June.

However, the rule change must first be approved by all NCAA divisions before going into effect.

Up to DII and DIII Before Being Approved

Both NCAA Divisions II and III are expected to consider the rule change in their respective meetings at the end of October. If approved by both divisions, the rule change will go into effect on Monday, Nov. 1.

However, even if the new rule is approved, the NCAA prohibition against betting on college sports – and sharing information about college competitions with other bettors – will remain in place.

According to several D-I committee representatives, the vote today is not an endorsement of sports betting, particularly for student athletes.

“The Administrative Committee was clear in its discussion today that it remains concerns about the risks associated with all forms of sports gambling, but ultimately voted to reduce restrictions on student-athletes in this area to betting align with their campus peers. This change allow the NCAA, the conferences, and member school 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,” Josh Whitman, Illinois Athletic Director and Chair of the Committee, said after the vote.

The rule change was also supported by the D-I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which requested the change come with continued and enhanced education and support for student-athletes to prevent problem gaming habits.

This comes at a time when the NCAA’s caseload involving sports betting violations has continued to increase, but in which most violations being pursed involve conduct that directly impacts the integrity of college sports.

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

Most recently, the NCAA announced an investigation of 13 former men’s basketball student athletes who competed at six schools for sports betting violations. While the facts differ for each athlete, they all include instances of student athletes betting on and against their own teams, sharing information with third parties for purpose of sports betting, knowingly manipulating scoring or game outcomes, and/or refusing to participate in the enforcement staff’s investigation.

Sports Betting Has Changed

As it currently stands, athletes face stiff penalties from the NCAA if found betting on college or professional sports, which could lead to permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in the most harshest of cases. Other penalties are determined by the amount bet on professional sports and what type of bet, or on what team, is made on college sports.

However, sports betting is now legal in 40 states and more accepted then when the NCAA devised its original gambling policies.

The NCAA modernized its sports betting policies in June 2023, as reinstatement guidelines for student-athletes found participating in sports betting (but not on their own school) were made more lenient. 

Sports Betting Dime first reported on this rule change possibility in May 2024, when Mark Hicks, managing director of enforcement for the NCAA, said the NCAA started discussions with its three division leaders to evaluate its sports betting policy and if the policy should be “liberalized.”

The proposal came after a directive from the DI Board of Directors in April, which proposed the council adopt changes to the sports betting rules.