Prop betting on college athletes unchanged in Montana

As gambling on sporting events has grown increasingly more accessible, Charlie Baker — president of the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) — has called on states to ban prop betting on college sporting competitions.

In the wake of gambling scandals rocking the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, Baker has chosen to take the proactive approach of encouraging a ban on prop betting. According to Sports Bet Montana, prop bets are “wagers on [a] very specific outcome during an event that does not relate to the final score.” This often results in bets placed on specific stats for players.

“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country, with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes getting harassed,” Baker said in a March 27 press release. Several states have already banned prop betting on college athletes, with more still acquiescing to Baker’s request by moving towards banning it.

Montana is in a unique position in regards to sports betting. Only one servicer in Montana can be used to gamble on sports legally. The Montana Lottery runs Sports Bet Montana and allows sports betting, including prop bets on college players, with the caveat that it can only be done in person at a Sports Bet Montana machine.

This was a compromise reached in 2019 to bring sports betting to Montana. It was deemed to be a middle ground between the policies of states like California, which allows no sports betting, and those like Colorado, where sports betting can be done from your phone.

This unique gambling situation — coupled with the state’s low population and limited number of large universities — led Montana Lottery Director Bob Brown to decline Baker’s request while also acknowledging that prop betting has led to harassment of players in other situations.

In an April 3 letter, Brown said, “We are in full support of your efforts to reduce the reports of student-athletes being harassed by bettors and the additional efforts surrounding player-athlete interaction in sports wagering.”

Brown continued by saying that although it is an issue, it does not affect student-athletes in Montana. “Speaking specifically to our state, with Montana’s low population and only two large universities, we can speak confidently that any issues occurring nationally have not been an issue in Montana.” 

Brown also notes in the letter that Sports Bet Montana offers a limited number of markets already and is reluctant to lower that already reduced number. This means that an already limited number of prop bets are available regarding college athletics.

Prop betting on student athletes in Montana is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean tweaks aren’t coming. A Sept. 2023 survey conducted by the NCAA noted that 10 percent of Division I respondents said they were aware of student-athletes being harassed either in person or online. This harassment is something Sports Bet Montana will seek to curb by imposing penalties on those who harass student-athletes, but it is unclear what those penalties and enforcement mechanisms would be.

“We also agree that regulations and statute would benefit from language being added to address the identification and prosecution of bettors who negatively interact with student-athletes,” Brown said.

If you or a loved one struggles with a gambling addiction, Sports Bet Montana recommends reaching out to the Montana Council on Problem Gambling at www.mtproblemgambling.org.