NCAA is considering eliminating pro sports betting ban

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Apr 19, 2025; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the NCAA logo and trophy before the 2025 Women's National Gymnastics Championship at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

With online sports betting becoming more prevalent throughout the country, we have seen a few betting scandals in the college sports space. Alabama fired their baseball coach and football players at Iowa and Iowa State served game suspensions. The NCAA created some hard-line rules when this came about.

Everyone’s favorite organization could now loosen some of those rules.

Sources: The NCAA DI Council has recommended expedited legislation next month regarding an elimination on the prohibition on wagering on professional sports, in addition to developing concepts to explore safe harbor, limited immunity or reduced penalties for athletes who engage…
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) May 23, 2025

The NCAA DI counsel has decided that betting on college athletics will not be allowed but betting on professional sports can be allowed in a certain capacity for players, coaches, and other staff members. So essentially, everyone can now play fantasy football where a cash prize is involved.

“At present, athletes, coaches and staff members cannot wager on professional sports that also are sponsored by the NCAA. That includes football, basketball, hockey, baseball, golf and tennis,” Pat Forde reports. “But in a video conference April 21, the D-I board voted 21–1 in favor of directing the council to ‘adopt legislation to deregulate the prohibition on wagering on professional sports.'”

The sports wagering policies began in 2023. If this ruling is altered, it could show that the NCAA is shifting its focus to what is going on in the college space. Most notably to prevent point shaving and keeping a closer eye on the prop bets market.

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“This is a cultural and philosophical recalibration for college athletics—both in terms of priorities and resources,” says Matt Banker, college athletics consultant with MB Sports Consulting. “The world of sports wagering looks far different in 2025 than it did even ten years ago, as it’s now legal in almost 80% of the United States. From a resource standpoint, if the NCAA national office’s only function was to monitor all three NCAA divisions’ hundreds of thousands of athletes, coaches, and staff for all iterations of sports wagering—including pro-sports wagering—that could be the full-time job for everyone in the building.”

Former NBA player — and Missouri Tiger — Jontay Porter was pinched for a prop bet scandal in 2024. NCAA President Charlie Baker has spoken publicly about wanting to ban prop bets in the college sports betting space. Prop betting in college sports is legal in Kentucky but illegal in some other state (Florida, Tennessee, etc.).

Things are changing rapidly in college athletics. Another issue is on the NCAA’s plate as we all await the approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement to bring revenue-sharing in 2025.