Louisiana Latest State to Ban College Player Prop Betting

The previous week, NCAA President Charlie Baker took to X, previously known as Twitter, to express his wish for the elimination of college-age prop betting on top sports betting platforms in the U.S. market.

The movement to prohibit college player prop betting across the U.S. continued to grow on Wednesday as Louisiana sports betting apps joined states like Ohio, Vermont, and Maryland in eliminating this type of betting from their market.

The Louisiana Gaming Control Board had been developing its own ban on college prop bets prior to Wednesday’s announcement. It has now confirmed that it will be discontinuing these bets within its jurisdiction, with the ban taking effect on August 1 in the Louisiana sports betting industry.

What Louisiana regulators have stipulated

As previously stated, Louisiana sports betting sites were already making a concerted effort to cease accepting any proposition or “prop” bets on the performance or statistics of individual college athletes participating in sporting events in the Bayou State.

Last week, Louisiana Gaming Control Board chairperson Ronnie Johns stated that the board’s intention is to safeguard the integrity of sports betting and ensure the safety and integrity of college athletes. Johns believes that the board’s recent order successfully achieves this goal.

As a result, college players’ statistics will not be eligible for betting through any of the state’s providers in Louisiana. However, there will still be plenty of opportunities to benefit from various sportsbook promotions in the Bayou state.

The Board’s press release stated that every possible effort will be put forth to adhere to the regulations. The Division acknowledges the difficulties in identifying players mentioned in the notification, but urges Sports Betting Operators to make every effort to comply with the notification’s objectives.

Broader effort

NCAA President Charlie Baker and major U.S. sports betting jurisdictions are making significant efforts to reduce player problem betting opportunities, with a focus on maintaining the integrity of the game and preventing harassment.

While college prop bets may appear to be a significant market, they only accounted for 1.3% of all wagers accepted in Ohio in 2023. Out of the total bets of $7.6 billion in the Ohio market last year, college prop bets amounted to $104.6 million, generating $12 million in revenue.

Maryland, Ohio, Vermont, and Louisiana have recently joined other states in implementing measures to safeguard college athletes from the influence of gambling in the sports industry. Currently, 29 out of the 50 states in America have established protections or bans in place to address this issue, although some states do not yet have their own legal sports betting platform.

States including Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and Wyoming are currently permitting prop bets for college-age athletes. These states may become the focus of opponents of such markets, including potentially Charlie Baker.