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The NCAA’s Division I Legislative Committee announced a number of changes to its gambling policies on Wednesday, including a potential “permanent loss of collegiate eligibility in all sports” for any student-athlete found to be throwing games or influencing their outcomes, providing insider information to bettors or wagering on either their own games or other sports at their school.
Athletes found gambling on their own sport at other schools will be required to take educational classes on sports betting and could be suspended for up to half of a season.
As for college athletes found to be wagering on professional sports, various punishments will be levied as a requirement of reinstatement depending on the amounts wagered:
- Less than $200: Sports wagering educational classes must be attended.
- $201-$500: Educational classes, suspension for up to 10 percent of the season.
- $501-$800: Educational classes, suspension for up to 20 percent of the season.
- More than $800: Educational classes, suspension for up to 30 percent of the season. Permanent ineligibility or more significant suspensions will also be considered if wagers greatly exceed $800.
The new guidelines are far more lenient than past punishments, which generally led to season-long suspensions for gambling infractions of any kind.
The DI Legislative Committee’s chair and Jacksonville’s athletic director, Alex Ricker-Gilbert. released the following statement regarding the changes:
“These new guidelines modernize penalties for college athletes at a time when sports wagering has been legalized in dozens of states and is easily accessible nationwide with online betting platforms. While sports wagering by college athletes is still a concern—particularly as we remain committed to preserving the integrity of competition in college sports—consideration of mitigating factors is appropriate as staff prescribe penalties for young people who have made mistakes in this space.”
The changes come at a time when gambling in the college sports space has become a major story following a number of scandals, which included Alabama firing head baseball coach Brad Bohannon for allegedly giving insider information to a bettor and both Iowa and Iowa State investigating rampant wagering among its student-athletes.