College athletes and staff cleared to bet on professional sports under new NCAA rule

The NCAA has officially approved a policy change that allows college athletes and athletic department staff to place bets on professional sports. The decision follows a series of approvals across all three NCAA divisions.

The Division I Administrative Committee first endorsed the proposal on October 8, with Divisions II and III granting their approval on October 22. The new rule will take effect at the beginning of November.

“This change recognizes the realities of today’s sports environment without compromising our commitment to protecting the integrity of college competition or the well-being of student-athletes,” said Roberta Page, director of athletics at Slippery Rock and chair of the Division II Management Council. “Our action reflects alignment across divisions while maintaining the principles that guide college sports.”

While the revision permits wagering on professional sports, it does not alter the NCAA’s firm prohibition against betting on college sports. Student-athletes and staff remain barred from gambling on college competitions or sharing inside information with bettors. The NCAA also continues to reject sponsorships or advertising from sports betting companies for its championships.

The change comes amid a growing number of investigations into sports betting violations within college athletics. NCAA enforcement officials have seen a rise in related cases in recent years, prompting the organization to refocus its oversight efforts.

“The enforcement staff continues to investigate and resolve cases involving sports betting quickly but thoroughly,” said Jon Duncan, NCAA vice president of enforcement. “Enforcement staff are investigating a significant number of cases that are specifically relevant to the NCAA's mission of fair competition, and our focus will remain on those cases and those behaviors that impact the integrity of college sports most directly.”

This year, three men’s basketball players at Fresno State and San Jose State were banned for betting on their own games, an incident that underscored the NCAA’s concerns about maintaining competitive fairness.

NCAA President Charlie Baker, speaking ahead of the vote at a Big East roundtable discussion on the future of college basketball, acknowledged that such incidents reflect a changing landscape. “We run the largest integrity program in the world on sports betting across all the various games,” Baker said. “Sadly, we discovered some student athletes involved with some problematic activity.”

The NCAA stated that the rule change is not an endorsement of sports betting but rather an acknowledgment of its prevalence.