Student-athletes and staff within athletic departments of the NCAA will be prohibited from wagering on professional sports following the decision made by the association’s membership on Friday to repeal a rule amendment that would have allowed such betting.
This action comes in the wake of several prominent gambling scandals that have brought the fairness of competition in collegiate and professional sports into question. In late October, NBA Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat player Terry Rozier were arrested as part of a major crackdown on alleged illegal gambling networks. Rozier was accused of using insider information about players to gain an advantage in betting on NBA matches.
Just two weeks prior, the NCAA announced that it was invalidating the eligibility of six men’s basketball athletes due to accusations of betting on sports. On Friday, the organization revealed that former Temple player Hysier Miller had placed numerous bets on games involving the Owls, some of which were against his own team.
The proposed regulation to permit betting on professional sports was set to become effective on November 1, but according to a seldom-utilized clause, each Division I institution was allotted 30 days to vote against the initiative, as it was ratified by fewer than 75% of the Division I leadership.
expressing apprehensions regarding the rule amendment. The two representatives from the SEC in the Division I cabinet had supported allowing professional sports betting.
Incidents of NCAA enforcement cases pertaining to sports betting infractions have risen in recent times. At least a dozen additional cases are currently under investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
