NCAA Eyes Allowing Athletes to Bet on Pro Sports

One of the many changes to college athletics, and really all of sports, over the last few seasons has been the legalization of sports gambling. If you remove Nevada, states have been chipping away at legalizing sports gambling since 2018. Montana legalized sports gambling on May 9, 2020.

Montana became the first state to legalize sports betting this year after Gov. Steve Bullock signed a bill Friday for the state lottery to oversee a system of wagering through kiosks and mobile applications that could be running by fall," - Matt Volz with the Associated Press from May 2020.

There are now 38 states that have some form of legalized sports betting. Now, there could be a new amendment involving college athletes and staff.

Montana Grizzlies could gamble on professional sports soon

The NCAA announced a proposal that would allow student-athletes and university staff to bet on PRO sports.

"The Division I Administrative Committee on Wednesday adopted a proposal that would permit student-athletes and athletics department staff members to bet on professional sports. The rule change must be approved by all three NCAA Divisions."

According to an NCAA press release on October 8.

Do I see a potential problem with this? Absolutely. There have already been issues with NBA players receiving bans, college basketball players potentially betting on their scoring numbers and umpires gambling on games. It could easily be a slippery slope for college players to bet on professional sports.

Personally, I love the idea. As an employee in college athletics, if I could bet on the NFL while I'm lounging around the house on a Sunday, you better believe I will take that.

What about you? Should college athletes be allowed to gamble on professional sports?