Louisiana Gaming Control Board bans in-state collegiate prop bets

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board signed an order Wednesday banning licensed sportsbooks from offering prop bets on college athletes.

The suspension on collegiate athlete prop bets begins Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. ET. The ban comes in time for college football season. The state of Louisiana has 10 Division I football program, including LSU.

“It is the intention of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to protect the integrity of sports betting as well as the safety and integrity of college athletes,” Louisiana Gaming Control Board chairman Ronnie Johns said in a statement. “We feel that this order accomplishes that goal.”

The decision to ban prop bets in Louisiana comes after NCAA president Charlie Baker released a statement last week on the topic. The former Massachusetts Governor’s call to end prop bets came in the middle of March Madness. The American Gaming Association estimates $2.7 billion will be bet this year on the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball tournaments through legal sportsbooks.

Prop bets, short for proposition bets, are wagers not related to the final score of a game. Examples include betting on the over/under for how many touchdowns a quarterback throws or the number of 3-pointers a women’s basketball player makes in a game.

“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity and competition and leading to student athletes and professional athletes getting harassed,” Baker said in his statement. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”

Prop bets concerns in college, professional ranks

In recent weeks, ESPN reported that the NBA was looking into betting irregularities involving Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter. In two games in which prop bets were made on Porter, they were the two biggest winners on prop bets in the NBA those nights.

Former LSU wide receiver Kayshon Boutte was charged for illegal online betting in January. Included in the charges, Boutte bet he would score a touchdown and rack up 82.5 yards against Florida State on Sept. 4, 2022, as part of an eight-leg parlay. He didn’t hit on either.

Louisiana joins Maryland, Ohio and Vermont as the latest states to ban college prop bets. Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania each have rules in place prohibiting prop bets. Notable states without laws against prop bets include Michigan, New Jersey and North Carolina.

“The NCAA is drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game — issues across the country these last several days show there is more work to be done,” Baker said in his statement.