The rise of sports betting has brought new challenges to college athletics, particularly in terms of how gambling affects student-athletes and their lives. This has been especially true in the United States, where sports betting has become increasingly common. In fact, a recent survey found that nearly half of autonomy schools reported dealing with a sports-betting problem at least once during the previous year.
This is why the NCAA is concerned about the effect of betting on its players, with a September 2023 report indicating that 27% of the colleges with this level of control had dealt with such a problem. The NCAA has a number of rules aimed at ensuring student-athletes aren’t exposed to too much gambling, including requiring that students sign a waiver saying they will not gamble while on campus. The rules also prohibit NCAA athletes from placing bets while in the stadium for a game, and require them to sign away their rights to any future profits from betting on the games.
Despite these restrictions, some students are able to place bets while on campus if they have their parents’ permission. In addition, a few universities have their own sportsbooks that accept bets from their students and faculty. These are called “campus books,” and they often offer better odds than the major online bookmakers.
Aside from these campus-based sportsbooks, most states have legalized betting on professional and collegiate sports. These regulated sportsbooks are able to offer a variety of betting options, including prop bets and accumulator bets. In addition, the sportsbooks must pay licensing fees to the leagues for the use of official data and logos/branding in their marketing and advertising. These fees help pay for additional league research and development to ensure fairness of the markets.
While the leagues’ stance on this issue was based on a fear that it could lead to match fixing – bribing referees and players to fix a game — they have since softened their position, with some even partnering with bookmakers for their in-game betting products. The Black Sox scandal is one of the most famous examples of this type of betting.
All baseball bets are settled based on the official result as stated by the governing body. This includes games that go to extra innings. However, if a game is abandoned before the start of play and no action is made for any length of time, then all bets are void. If a game is rescheduled and played within 24 hours, then all bets will stand.
Football betting is settled on the official result from a match, as provided by the governing body of that competition. This excludes any individual goal or scorer betting markets which are only available pre-match. In addition, any accumulator or outright bets which are placed on the match result must be settled in full, including any goals scored in overtime if the game goes to extra time. For example, a bet on the goal line market or totals in an Australian Rules game must reach the full nine innings to be deemed valid.