Sources: NCAA Considering Removing Ban on Pro Sports Betting

Momentum is building toward the NCAA removing its prohibition against gambling on professional sports, multiple sources tell Sports Illustrated. The Division I Board of Directors laid the groundwork for such a rule change last month and has forwarded it to the D-I Council for further discussion next week. If the council is in favor, it could be fast-tracked into existence by late June.

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. 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.” It also “directed the NCAA staff to develop concepts for the appropriate committees to consider regarding a safe harbor, limited immunity or reduced penalties for student-athletes who engage in sports wagering but seek help for problem gambling.”

Prohibitions against gambling on college sports would remain in place, sources say.

This is a continuation of the NCAA’s review of sports wagering policies which began in 2023. As legalized gambling has spread in the United States, particularly on college campuses, it has outstripped the ability to enforce applicable NCAA rules in some areas.

The proliferation of eligibility and infractions cases related to gambling on pro sports has bogged down NCAA Enforcement and university compliance staffs, for what often are ruled to be minor infractions with small penalties.

“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 and a former administrator on both the campus and conference levels. “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.”

If the rule change is approved, it would signal that the NCAA and its member schools are pulling back to focus on policing wagering that more directly threatens the college athletics product. That starts with integrity—point-shaving, game-fixing or manipulating individual performances—and extends to pressure and criticism aimed at athletes who cost gamblers money.

“At a macro level, the biggest risk to college sports is point shaving and prop bets and the integrity of its competitions being called into question,” Banker says. “It’s not whether a college athlete or coach bets on the Super Bowl or WNBA Finals. Is it risky to gamble on an individual level? Of course. Is pro sports gambling by a college athlete or coach the biggest threat to college athletics? It’s not.”

Federal and NCAA investigations remain ongoing regarding game-fixing in men’s college basketball. The arrests of several men in connection with former NBA player Jontay Porter manipulating his performances last year widened into a probe of multiple college games and teams, and at least one other NBA player. Although little news has come out on that front in recent weeks, sources tell SI that inquiries by both the feds and NCAA Enforcement remain active. Several Division I men’s basketball teams suspended or dismissed players during the 2024–25 season in what sources say were disciplinary actions related to either betting on college games (including their own) or manipulating their performances for wagering purposes.

In a quarterly report last month, the International Betting Integrity Association said it flagged six basketball games in the United States in the first quarter of 2025 for suspicious betting patterns. The specific games were not disclosed. The IBIA said it flagged five basketball games in the U.S. in all of 2024, along with two in Canada and one in Mexico.