Louisiana is the latest state to ban player betting in college sports. On Wednesday, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board announced that such betting will no longer be available starting August 1st.
“Our staff began working on this weeks ago, long before the NCAA called for action regarding college proposition betting,” Ronnie Johns, chairman of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, said in a statement. “It is the intent of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to protect the integrity of sports betting and the safety and integrity of college athletes. We believe this order achieves that goal.”
A week ago, NCAA President Charlie Baker said his organization was calling on all states to ban prop betting for college players, adding: “The NCAA draws the line at sports betting to protect student-athletes and the integrity of the game ….” ”
As the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments continue to their respective Final Fours and the NBA season nears the playoffs, sports betting has come under scrutiny as players and coaches have spoken out about the stress that comes with angry bettors.
Most recently, University of North Carolina star center Armando Bacot said that despite a strong performance in his team’s victory over Michigan State in the second round of the tournament he still heard from angry players.
“I guess I didn’t get enough rebounds or something,” Bacot said in a press conference. “I thought I played pretty well last game, but when I looked at my DMs I got like a hundred messages from people telling me I sucked and stuff like that because I didn’t get enough rebounds.”
And he had a good game, scoring 18 points and 7 rebounds in a blowout 85-69 win.
“I think it’s definitely a little out of control, but at the same time I understand the point,” he added with a slight laugh. “For example, if you bet a lot of money on something and you only have one choice and someone screws it up, I understand the part of the fans that are angry; But sometimes it’s annoying.”
Both Ohio and Maryland banned prop betting for college players about a month ago at the request of the NCAA. Players’ biggest concern is harassment, which in turn affects their mental health. Vermont also recently began banning this type of betting.
It seems likely that other states will follow suit, as gambling officials across the country have said they are looking into the matter and are open to a ban.
