At least one state is respectfully declining the NCAA’s request to ban college player prop betting.
That state, Montana, is one of the smallest in the U.S. by population and has only two “large” universities. That is why its lottery has opted to keep college player props on the menu of its legal sportsbook, Sports Bet Montana.
The Montana Lottery was contacted by the NCAA last week regarding the organization's campaign to ban college player prop betting. The NCAA and its president, former Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, are concerned about student-athletes being harassed, threatened, and pumped for inside information by sports bettors. The player prop bans the NCAA wants from states are one of the ways the organization is trying to reduce those risks.
But Montana Lottery Director Bob Brown responded in a letter to Baker on Wednesday that while they support the efforts to curb student-athlete harassment, they are not about to take college player props off the board at Sports Bet Montana.
“Speaking specifically to our state, with Montana’s low population and only two large universities, we can speak confidently that any issues occurring nationally have not been an issue in Montana,” Brown wrote. “Regarding the specifics of player prop betting, it is not in our immediate plans to discontinue college player prop markets offered through our sports book. Montana’s local teams already have a limited number of markets, which we are not inclined to limit further.”
Here's the letter. The Montana Lottery heard from the NCAA last week and says it supports the organization's efforts to reduce harassment of student-athletes by sports bettors. However, Brown says Montana has not seen any of the issues that may have occurred nationally. pic.twitter.com/PXv9J4J3S3
— Geoff Zochodne (@GeoffZochodne) April 4, 2024
The decision by Montana halts the recent trend among states to honor the NCAA’s desire to remove college player props from regulated sportsbooks, albeit for some relatively unique reasons. However, most states already ban college player props, including Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, and Louisiana. Those four states only restricted the prop markets this year, even if they were not directly asked by the NCAA to do so.
College player props made up approximately 1.35% of all wagering in Ohio in 2023, which suggests their removal will not hit sportsbook operators too hard. Yet their banning could still prompt bettors in any given state to seek out those prop markets with offshore and illegal sportsbooks, and there is no guarantee that any harassment or other shenanigans will cease entirely. States also have no control over the regulation of an offshore sportsbook.
Brown told Baker in the letter that the lottery agrees regulations and laws could stand to gain from additional language aimed at cracking down on abusive sports bettors. Such tweaks have already been made in Ohio and West Virginia. Those measures were not ruled out by the Montana Lottery director either.
“Establishing those expectations in our regulations will be considered as part of our efforts to strengthen the sports wagering offering in Montana,” Brown said.
Montana’s polite refusal to remove any college player props from its sportsbook means there are still 20 states that offer those markets in some form: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Regulators from some of those states, such as Kansas and Wyoming, have told Covers they would or will consider player prop bans in the future.
A Big Sky-specific setup
Montana residents can only wager using the Sports Bet Montana app in an authorized retail location, such as a bar or restaurant in the state. Bettors can also use physical kiosks at those locations.
The Sports Bet Montana website showed several college player props available on Thursday, such as whether North Carolina State Wolfpack basketball star D.J. Burns will go Over or Under 14.5 points in the team's upcoming NCAA Men's Tournament game against the Purdue Boilermakers.
Brown, though, said that the Montana Lottery will “remain vigilant” on the issue of college player props and their possible effects on athletes.
“Despite our decision at this time, the Montana Lottery entirely recognizes the need in other parts of the country to address these player prop bets and the negative activities that can surround them,” the director wrote. “We are committed to the active monitoring of player and bettor activity with our sports book as well as what is occurring throughout the country. Again, your raising of the flag on this issue is commended.”
