NCAA Reportedly Considering Lifting Ban for Players, Coaches Betting on Pro Sports

The NCAA is considering ending its ban on gambling on professional sports as soon as June, according to Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde.

According to Forde, the Division I Board of Directors voted 21-1 in favor of removing the prohibition on professional sports betting in an April video conference.

The proposal has been sent to the Division I Council, which could potentially approve the change to be "fast-tracked into existence by late June," per Forde.

NCAA rules currently state that student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff members "are not allowed to bet or provide any useful information that can influence a bet in any sport the NCAA sponsors at any level."

Even if the professional sports betting ban is lifted, the NCAA's prohibition regarding college sports betting is expected to remain in place, per Forde.

The Division I Board of Directors also “directed the NCAA staff to develop concepts for the appropriate committees to consider regarding a safe harbor, limited immunity or reduced penalties for student-athletes who engage in sports wagering but seek help for problem gambling," according to Forde.

The NCAA rulebook currently describes sports betting as "a serious threat to the well-being of our student-athletes and to the integrity of NCAA competition."

Updating that policy would mark the next step in the NCAA's changing relationship with sports betting in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2018 decision to end the federal ban on the practice.

Forde's report comes two weeks after the NCAA announced it would be for the first time providing sportsbooks official data from postseason tournaments, including March Madness, as part of an extended partnership with tech firm Genius Sports.

As the NCAA expands its collaboration with sportsbooks, the organization may be focusing on regulating how athletes, coaches and staff members interact with college sports betting rather than whether they gamble on pro sports.