As states expand sports betting options, NCAA lessens penalties for some gambling

The legalization of sports betting across the nation, including in North Carolina, led the NCAA to update its penalties for athletes who wager on sports.

North Carolina lawmakers approved mobile sports betting earlier this year, and bettors will be able to place wagers as soon as January 8.

The NCAA's Division I Legislative Committee on Tuesday approved new guidelines for reinstatement for athletes who commit sports wagering violations that could lead to less stringent penalties. Previously athletes who bet on sports at any level would lose one full season of eligibility.

"These new guidelines modernize penalties for college athletes at a time when sports wagering has been legalized in dozens of states and is easily accessible nationwide with online betting platforms," said Alex Ricker-Gilbert, athletics director at Jacksonville and chair of the DI Legislative Committee, in a statement.

"While sports wagering by college athletes is still a concern — particularly as we remain committed to preserving the integrity of competition in college sports — consideration of mitigating factors is appropriate as staff prescribe penalties for young people who have made mistakes in this space."

The new guidelines are:

• Betting on their own games or other sports at their school or engaging in activities to influence the outcomes of their own games or knowingly providing information to individuals involved in sports betting activities: Could face permanent loss of college eligibility in all sports.
• Bet on their own sport at another school: Loss of 50% of one season of eligibility will be considered and education on sports wagering rules and prevention will be required as condition of reinstatement.
• For other violations, including wagering on professional sports, the value of the wagers will be taken into consideration:
  - $200 or less: sports wagering rules and prevention education;
  - $201 to $500: loss of 10% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education;
  - $501 to $800: loss of 20% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education;
  - Greater than $800: loss of 30% of a season of eligibility, plus rules and prevention education.

NCAA President Charlie Baker expressed concern about the proliferation of legalized sports betting across the nation.

"I'm scared to death about what it might mean for college athletes, just given how much of it there's going to be going forward," Baker said during a June summit in Washington, D.C. "If there are lots of kids on campus betting on college sports and betting on the teams on their campus, this puts student-athletes in a very difficult position."

An April NCAA survey of college students, not just athletes, found that 58% of 18- to 22-year-olds have engaged in at least one sports betting activity. More than two-thirds of students living on campus are bettors, according to the survey, and more than 40% have placed a bet on their school's teams.

The North Carolina Education Lottery Commission is tasked with formulating sports betting regulations and issuing licenses to 12 operators. It has until June 14, one year from when the bill was signed into law, to have mobile sports betting up and running in the state.