The Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) announced that proposition bets on an individual athlete’s performance participating in a college sporting event will be suspended from the state’s official sports betting catalog.
The LGCB sent a bulletin to inform all licensed sports betting operators in the state that such prop bets will be effective from 8 am on August 1 this year. While prop bets on individual players will be banned, Louisiana will still permit bets based on full-team statistical results for college events.
“Our staff began to work on this weeks ago, well ahead of the NCAA’s call for action on college proposition bets. It is the intention of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to protect the integrity of sports betting as well as the safety and integrity of college athletes,” LGCB chairman Ronnie Johns said in a statement. “We feel that this order accomplishes that goal.”
According to the bulletin, Louisiana sports betting operators must make their best efforts to comply with the intent of the notification despite awareness from the Division that identifying such players may pose a challenge for online sportsbooks.
Why Are Prop Bets Banned?
The NCAA has pushed for an outright ban on prop bets on an individual player’s performance for a while now. Preventing player harassment is at the top of the priority list for the NCAA, particularly for student-athletes from low-income households.
NCAA president Charlie Baker has called for states with legal wagering frameworks to reconsider allowing prop bets on college players in their catalogs. The college prop bets are not a major market for sportsbook operators, ensuring these states are unlikely to feel a significant monetary loss from these bans.
“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity and competition and leading to student-athletes and professional athletes getting harassed,” Baker said. “The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats, and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”
Related Pages: Legal Sports Betting States | College Basketball Odds | Heisman Trophy Odds
Louisiana Follows Other States in College Props Ban
Louisiana has followed the suit of several other states to ban betting on individual players in events sanctioned by the NCAA. Last month, Vermont updated its catalog to ban betting on individual player prop bets on any NCAA game while stating that prop bets that cover an entire team will be allowed, similar to Louisiana’s update.
Maryland and Ohio also banned prop betting on college events. While the NCAA requested Ohio to take down college prop betting, Maryland took the proactive step to ban such bets even before receiving correspondence from the NCAA.
“Maryland’s sportsbook operators were directed to stop taking college player prop bets as of March 1, 2024. The decision aligns Maryland with other states that have disallowed these wagers to protect college athletes against potential harassment. The intent is to focus college sports wagers on the teams rather than the individual athletes,” an MLGCA spokesperson said.
The NCAA has signed a partnership deal with Signify, a data science company, to identify potential threats to players during college events tied to heavy sports betting. Signify also works with the WNBA and the National Basketball Players Association.
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