The state that cleared the way for sports gambling now may ban ‘prop’ bets on college athletes

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — After an unexpected loss in which he threw four interceptions in September, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne heard from bettors angry that his subpar statistics lost bets for them. Some contacted him over the Venmo cash transfer app, asking him to refund their losses.

In March, North Carolina basketball player Armando Bacot said he got over 100 direct messages on social media from angry gamblers when he did not make enough rebounds for their bets to win.

Now the state whose U.S. Supreme Court victory led to an explosion of legal sports betting across America is considering banning such bets involving the statistical performance of college athletes.

New Jersey argues that student athletes are more accessible and thus more vulnerable to pressure and harassment than professional players, given that they eat in the same dining halls, live in the same dorms and attend classes with many other students.

“Not all of what has come from the legalization of sports betting has been positive,” said state Sen. Kristin Corrado.

A bill before the state Legislature would ban so-called proposition bets, commonly known as “props,” on what a particular athlete does or doesn’t do in a game. That can include how many touchdowns a quarterback throws, how many yards a running back accumulates, or how many rebounds a basketball player collects.

Austin Mayo, assistant director of government relations for the NCAA, said 1 in 3 players in sports that are heavily bet on have reported receiving harassment from gamblers.

The association wants such bets prohibited nationwide. If it passes the bill, New Jersey would join 13 other states that ban college prop bets, according to the American Gaming Association: Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, Louisiana, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

But Bill Pascrell III, a lobbyist for numerous gambling and sports-betting companies, said there has not been a demonstrable level of serious harm from college prop bets, which he said constitute 2% to 4% of the legal sports betting industry.

“When we ban any type of bet, particularly those that had been legalized, we’re pushing the bettor to the black market,” he said.

New Jersey allows betting on college games but prohibits it on teams from New Jersey or on games from out-of-state teams that are physically played in New Jersey.

Pascrell said that the recent tournament success of New Jersey colleges Seton Hall and St. Peter’s were bet on, either with illegal offshore internet sites, or legally by gamblers traveling to other states where it is permitted.

The bill was approved and released from an Assembly committee Thursday. It still must be approved by both full chambers of the Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy to become law.

New Jersey’s lawsuit challenging a ban on legal sports betting in all but four U.S. states led to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling allowing any state in the nation to offer it; 38 currently do, and Missouri will soon become the 39th.

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