A trio of GOP congressmen is asking NCAA president Charlie Baker to send them his draft on rules that would allow college athletes to gamble on sports.
Republican Reps. Brett Guthrie (KY), John Joyce (PA), and Gus Bilirakis (FL) of the Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to the NCAA chief seeking answers to nine key questions about how the NCAA proposes to implement the changes.
The congressmen are worried after the recent revelation of a major FBI investigation into gambling involving several members of the NBA, not to mention investigations into gambling launched by the NCAA itself, ESPN reported.
The congressional letter asks Baker what rules the NCAA intends to put in place to prevent illegal gambling schemes and requests more information on the studies the NCAA has commissioned to examine how gambling might affect students. The trio also asked Baker for info on any “fraudulent, illegal, and alleged betting practices in connection with NCAA players.”
Rep. Bilirakis, in particular, is worried that the new gambling rules might conflict with his SCORE Act, a bill that aims to codify player movement and spending by schools better.
The NCAA has been considering rules to reverse the ban on gambling, but has delayed their release as debate continues.
NCAA senior vice president for external affairs Tim Buckley says that the college sports governing body has the “most aggressive approach” of any other league for sports betting.
“The most significant threats to competition integrity are in states that continue to offer risky prop bets as well as the emerging grey market made up of futures and predictions trading sites that operate without oversight,” Buckley said. “For the last two years, the NCAA has been working with gaming regulators to push for adoption of stronger protections for college athletes and for stronger integrity measures, and while several states have made changes, more work remains.”
There is significant concern about allowing players to gamble. SEC Commissioner Greg Sanke recently published a letter criticizing the plan and calling the policy change “a major step in the wrong direction.” Sanke insists the plans must be stopped.
The NCAA has set a November 22 release date for the new gambling rules.
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