NCAA votes to rescind rule allowing college athletes to bet on pro sports

In an anticipated decision, the NCAA has voted to rescind a rule allowing college athletes to bet on pro sports. The announcement came after Ross Dellenger reported schools were pushing back on the guidance.

The NCAA announced in late October that the Division I Board voted to approve the policy change, which would allow athletes to wager on pro sports beginning Nov. 1. However, the board announced a delay for that change with an effective date of Nov. 22. Division I rules allow 30 days for schools to vote on potentially rescinding a proposal if adopted by less than 75% of the D-I Cabinet.

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The vote for recession required two-third majority. Friday afternoon, the NCAA announced it reached that threshold, and the ban wills stay in place at all three NCAA divisions.

“After a procedural 30-day period, two-thirds of Division I member schools have voted to rescind a previously approved rule change that would have allowed student-athletes and athletics department staff members to legally participate in sports betting on professional sports only,” the NCAA said in its announcement. “Because sports betting rules are common legislation, the ban on all forms of betting – for sports in which the NCAA sponsors a championship – will remain in place for all three NCAA divisions.”

The announcement of the delay came after Yahoo! Sports reported SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sent a memo asking the NCAA to rescind the guidance. Sankey called it a “major step in the wrong direction.”

“We are equally concerned about the vulnerability of our student-athletes. The combination of accessible mobile betting, financial pressures, and social influence makes the possibility of personal gambling losses – and the potential for exploitation – very real,” Sankey’s letter read, per Yahoo! Sports. “… It is foreseeable that college athletes, with far fewer resources and far greater outside influence, can be involved in compromising circumstances.”

The NCAA D-I administrative committee voted to allow athletes to gamble on pro sports Oct. 8. When D-II and D-III followed suit Oct. 22, it meant the policy change was due to take effect Nov. 1. But one day after the Divisions II and II adopted the proposal, news broke of multiple arrests connected to gambling-related investigations in the NBA.

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was taken into custody by federal agents Oct. 23 and is facing accusations of participating in an illegal sports gambling scheme using insider information. ESPN’s David Purdum reported gamblers used inside information to wager on at least seven NBA games between March 2023 and 2024, and players allegedly removed themselves in three of the seven games to benefit gamblers.