NCAA president Charlie Baker pushed Congress to limit the types of bets gamblers can make on college athletes as the industry continues to expand with more states legalizing sports betting in a multibillion-dollar industry that lawmakers are considering setting up minimum national standards to regulate.
Nineteen states allow for prop bets on player performances in college athletics like the number of points a basketball player will score or passing yards for a college quarterback. Baker said many athletes are pressured into performing in certain ways, such as a basketball player intentionally missing free throws, and subject to threats online and in person when their performance keeps a bettor from winning a wager.
Johnson Bademosi, a former NFL cornerback, said sports betting being legalized has put additional pressure on athletes to perform that has negatively impacted athletes’ mental health. Advertisements for sports betting are highly visible during sports broadcasts, displayed surrounding the field of play and through direct partnerships with professional leagues that once adamantly opposed legalizing gambling due to concerns about integrity of competition.
"Maybe we need to start thinking about rules of the road," said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. "On the on the gambling angle, to get this right, or it's going to get worse and the bad actors are going to exploit more. We're going to destroy a game that I'm fanatic over. We're going to destroy this game because of all the other pressures that are coming in and influencing the product.", aims to address some of the issues that have come with legalized gambling.