Missouri Decides on College Basketball Prop Bet Ban
Less than two months after the legalization of sports betting, Missouri gambling regulators voted on whether to ban prop betting on college basketball, following the NCAA's urging regulators across the country to reassess proposition bets offered by sportsbooks.
Just last week, those overseeing the Missouri sports betting market received a letter from NCAA President Charlie Baker describing how, in seven schools, including in Missouri, 11 athletes had been found to have bet on their own performances or manipulated outcomes by sharing information with bettors.
The Missouri Gaming Commission went on to open a public comment period, asking residents whether prop bets, such as how many rebounds or points a player will get, as well as half bets, should be banned for college basketball.
The only comment it received, one hour before the Wednesday deadline, stated that Missouri doesn’t allow bets on Missouri schools.
In a response to a question asked by FOX4 News, the Missouri Gaming Commission has not yet calculated how much has been wagered on college player prop bets since sports betting opened in the state on Dec. 1.
However, Ryan Butler, Senior Editor at Covers.com, said that it was not that prevalent, with some sportsbooks not offering player props due to the number of Division I schools.
“The argument against these player prop bans is there are offshore books that exist in Missouri that will still take action and there’s no way to protect them. But the argument for them is there absolutely this temptation especially with people that have access to these books that maybe $1,000 can go along way, especially if you are the sixth man on a lower division 1 school,” said Butler.
Four states have banned prop bets on the NCAA in the past year, including Ohio, whose governor has been very outspoken about proposition bets in recent months.
(editor's note: since this piece was authored the state ultimately decided not to ban college basketball player props)
NCAA appeals for prediction market oversight
In addition to objecting to prop bets for NCAA basketball players, the NCAA is also making its objection to prediction markets offering event contracts on college sports known.
The NCAA requested that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) halt trading in college sports on Jan. 14 until the federal agency put in place stronger consumer protections. In his letter to the CFTC, Baker described how the rapid expansion of prediction market apps threatened college athletes' personal safety and the fairness of contests.
He requested that safeguards, including advertising, age limits, mandatory integrity monitoring, and prohibiting proposition wagers, be put in place.
Some operators, including Kalshi, already use monitoring firms to flag suspicious activity. However, the NCAA argues that the current oversight lacks necessary tools, including a more robust geolocator.
Prediction market platforms have seen substantial growth in the past year after beginning to offer sports-event markets, with Baker noting that, because they are regulated at the federal level, they do not face the same integrity threats as competitors on a central hub, unlike regulated sportsbooks.
