On Monday, the United States Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), striking the law that prevented states from drafting their own regulations for local sports betting. The NCAA said Thursday it wants federal regulation:
The NCAA wants the federal government to regulate sports gambling
The organization has long opposed sports betting.
Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images
“Our highest priorities in any conversation about sports wagering are maintaining the integrity of competition and student-athlete well-being,” said Mark Emmert, NCAA president. “Sports wagering can adversely impact student-athletes and undermine the games they play. We are committed to ensuring that laws and regulations promote a safe and fair environment for the nearly half a million students who play college athletics.”
Emmert added, “While we recognize the critical role of state governments, strong federal standards are necessary to safeguard the integrity of college sports and the athletes who play these games at all levels.”
The NCAA is scrapping a ban on hosting championship events in states where sports betting is legal. That had long kept championships out of Nevada.
While this ruling affects every sports league in the U.S., the effects on the NCAA — which oversees amateur athletes — could be the most interesting. While Las Vegas and overseas betting on college sports is alive and well, how collegiate sports’ ruling body would respond was anticipated. Here’s what the NCAA had to say regarding the ruling:
The NCAA vehemently argued against the ruling to legalize sports betting.
It was the losing party in the Supreme Court case, and the country’s major professional leagues all joined in the NCAA’s stance.
In fact, it went so far as to threaten to move any postseason events from the state of Delaware in 2009 if it had allowed legal gambling on college sports.
Outside of Delaware, sports betting was allowed in the grandfathered-in states of Nevada, Oregon, and Montana. Now, the NCAA has a decision to make whether to use and integrate sports betting within the sport.
The NCAA could greatly benefit financially by monetizing sports betting within the NCAA. Imagine opening the March Madness app during the NCAA tournament and being able to bet real-time on games and players? This past March, the NCAA made $857 million from Turner for broadcast rights for the tourney. Integrating gambling would increase revenue from March Madness even more.
The biggest question at hand, of course, is whether NCAA athletes will see a slice of the money that the organization makes on sports gambling. Some schools have already planned ahead for this ruling — Marshall and West Virginia have reportedly reached a tentative deal to get a cut.
If the NCAA and schools get richer off of sports gambling, it will no doubt deepen the conversation about whether NCAA athletes — particularly in revenue generating sports like football and basketball — should be better compensated for their highly-value talents. (They should.)
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