The Big Ten Conference Student-Athlete Issues Commission (SAIC) is urging the NCAA to step up its efforts to limit or ban proposition bets involving individual student-athletes.
In a letter this week to NCAA president Charlie Barker, the SAIC warns of increased harassment of student-athletes because of wagers on individual-performance proposition bets, as well as the negative impact that these bets have on student-athletes’ mental health.
“The Big Ten Conference is proud to support our student-athletes in calling for the restriction or elimination of individual proposition wagers on college athletics,” said Big Ten Conference Commissioner Tony Petitti. “The Big Ten Conference appreciates the NCAA’s effort to eliminate these wagers and will continue to assist student-athletes as they deal with the challenges that result from proposition bets in college sports.”
The SAIC also warns of the potential risk that player prop bets pose to the integrity of sporting competitions.
“When bets are tied to individual statistics or plays, it creates pressure and suspicion around student-athletes’ performance. Even when no wrongdoing occurs, prop betting can raise doubts about effort, decision-making, and fairness. This damages trust in competition and puts student-athletes in a vulnerable position,” warns the SAIC.
“These athletes are often young and more susceptible to influence, including financial incentives that may encourage them to perform in a certain way or affect specific outcomes. Prop bets are relatively easy to influence on the part of the player, should they be involved or influenced by the wrong people, but eliminating prop bets would help protect the integrity of college sports and reduce the external pressure on student-athletes.”
“We believe protecting student-athletes must be a priority,” concludes the SAIC. “Limiting or eliminating prop betting on college athletes would be a meaningful step toward reducing harassment, protecting mental well-being, and preserving the integrity of college competition.”
The letter is signed by the representatives of 19 universities across the United States.
The NCCA is already working to safeguard its athletes and competitions, with president Barker recently urging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to pause all college sport offerings in prediction markets until the agency implements appropriate regulations.
In a letter last month to the CFTC, the NCAA called for a robust system of safeguards and detailed its willingness to work with the regulatory body to assist with developing the necessary guardrails to protect student-athletes and college sports.
The critical safeguards requested include age and advertising restrictions, enhanced integrity monitoring, prop market prevention, anti-harassment measures and harm reduction resources.
The Association has also called on state gambling commissions to adjust state laws and regulations to eliminate gambling on individual prop bets and other high-risk prop bets such as first half unders.