New Jersey Bill Filed to Prohibit College Player Props at Sportsbooks

Posted on: April 10, 2024, 12:31h. 

Last updated on: April 12, 2024, 08:59h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Legislation filed this week in New Jersey seeks to fully prohibit sportsbooks from allowing bets on a college athlete’s individual performance.

New Jersey college prop bets sportsbook
New Jersey Sen. Kristin Corrado has authored legislation that would force online and retail sportsbooks to cease offering player-specific props involving all college athletes. NCAA officials say such wagers increase harassment and threats of college student-athletes. (Image: New Jersey Globe)

New Jersey already prohibits college player props involving athletes enrolled at universities based in the state. State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-Passaic) wants to restrict all such wagers, regardless of whether they involve a college athlete in the Garden State.

“Proposition bets have led to a rise in the harassment of student-athletes and have threatened the integrity of college sports,” Corrado said on Monday in introducing her bill.

I have heard about many individuals who have been the victim of online harassment because they didn’t perform to the expectation of a bettor. This legislation will ban player-specific prop betting in New Jersey, which will help curb that appalling behavior, and make college athletic events safer for all participants,” Corrado continued.

Corrado’s Senate Bill 3080 would prohibit “sports wagering licensees from offering player-specific proposition bets on college sports.” The bill hasn’t yet been assigned to a Senate committee for initial review.

Prop Problems

Player-specific prop bets allow bettors to gamble on an individual player’s performance. An example would be how many points Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark might score in a single game.

The NCAA has called on regulators and lawmakers in sports betting states to ban college player props. NCAA President Charlie Baker says such wagers have increased the frequency of student-athletes being harassed and threatened by bettors who lose because of their performance.

States are adhering to Baker and the NCAA’s calls. Regulators in Ohio, Maryland, and Louisiana this year amended their sports betting rules to exclude player-specific prop bets.

Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Washington, DC, and Wyoming are the only remaining sports betting jurisdictions where college player props are fully allowed.

Purdue center Zach Edey, whose men’s team lost the national championship on Monday night, told The Athletic that he’s threatened “all the time” by bettors. The 7’4″ center says he doesn’t let the incessant threats get to him.

People have been hating on me since my sophomore year,” Edey explained. “What do I care if Billy who put 30 bucks on the game is mad at me?”

Another one of college basketball’s most recognizable figures, University of North Carolina star Armando Bacot, said this month during the NCAA March Madness tournament that he’s faced plenty of online threats. The outgoing Tar Heels forward opined that the expansion of sports betting has gotten “a little out of hand.”

Bet Popularity 

When the Ohio Casino Control Commission announced changes to its sports betting catalog in February that removed college player props, Executive Director Matthew Schuler said such bets account for only about 1.5% of the state’s sports betting action.

Most states don’t break down their sports betting handle reports by type of bet. But if the country’s prop bet activity mimics Ohio’s, 1.5% represents a lot of money.

The American Gaming Association says legal sportsbooks last year took $119.8 billion in bets. One and a half percent of that massive number equates to nearly $1.8 billion in wagers.