Louisiana Latest State to Ban College Prop Bets
Louisiana Ban on Prop Bets to Begin August 1
Louisiana is joining the list of states that have banned college player props or are moving in that direction. Less than a week after NCAA President Charlie Baker asked player prop wagers be prohibited, Louisiana announced its intentions. The Louisiana ban on prop bets is slated to begin August 1. Even though the timing of the announcement was just after Baker’s public plea, state officials said they had been working on the matter well ahead of the NCAA request.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board sent a bulletin Wednesday to the state’s licensed sportsbooks notifying them of the change.
“It is the intention of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to protect the integrity of sports betting as well as the safety and integrity of college athletes,” LGCB chair Ronnie Johns said in a statement. “We feel that this order accomplishes that goal.”
College player props have been a hot topic since Baker went on social media asking for states to ban the wagers. He said players are being harassed by losing bettors. Some states already had bans in place before Baker asked to ban player props. Several others were considering it, but now the Louisiana ban on prop bets could get other states to follow suit.
It won’t have much of an impact on bettors, as college player props make up an extremely small portion of wagers. Most college betting strategies involve team wagers. Few bettors know enough about college players to make player-specific wagers, even if given free picks. There are a few, however, and the rule was written with them in mind.
Potential Problems With Louisiana Ban
The Louisiana ban on prop bets wasn’t phrased in the best manner. The bulletin states, “Any wager based on the following is NOT approved and is NOT permitted: Any proposition or ‘prop’ bet on an individual athlete’s performance or statistics participating in a college sporting event. Only proposition bets based on full team statistical results are permitted.”
The “full team statistical results” section could become a sticking point down the road. As written, there is nothing to prevent a sportsbook from offering a prop bet on how many yards a college football team passes for. While it is essentially a player prop bet on the quarterback’s passing numbers, it is allowed as long as the wager specifies the team’s passing yards. It just can’t be the passing yards of an individual player. However, the state’s sportsbooks were asked to make efforts to comply with the new rule.
“While the Division understands that identifying players included in this notification may present challenges, Sports Betting Operators shall use their best efforts to comply with the intent of this notification,” the bulletin said.
The gambling news shows that Michigan and Kansas could be among the next states to ban college player prop wagers. A number of states allow them but do have restrictions. Some states will not let bettors wager NCAA player prop bets on athletes who play in their home state. There are currently 10 states that allow college player proposition bets without any restrictions.
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