Prop sports betting on college players banned in Ohio

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

Prop betting on individual college players was removed Friday from the list of legal sports bets in Ohio.

In January 2023, University of Dayton basketball coach Anthony Grant spoke about online threats his players had received from gamblers.

“These young men, we’re asking them to sacrifice quite a bit for us to be able to do what we do and enjoy what we enjoy. So I’m just asking all the Flyer fans just to understand that we’re dealing with 18-, 21-, 22-year-olds, and it’s about them. This is about them.

“When we have people that make it about themselves and attack kids because of their own agenda … it sickens me,” Grant told reporters.

Gov. Mike DeWine cited these threats when encouraging a change in colleges sports betting in Ohio.

“The Ohio Casino Control Commission took quick action to protect student athletes from unnecessary and potentially harmful threats,” DeWine said Friday. “Amending rules to focus bets on the team and away from individual athlete will improve the marketplace in Ohio and properly focus betting attention on the teams and away from individual student athletes.”

Under the enacted changes, bettors in Ohio will no longer be able to place prop bets on individual player achievements, including in-game statistics and in-game achievements for collegiate sporting contests.

Bettors will still be permitted to place bets on the overall outcomes and final scores of collegiate sports contests, including outright winners, over/under total team points bets, and bets against the spread. The rule changes will not affect professional sports contests, and bettors in Ohio can still place prop bets on professional sports contests.

Matt Schuler, Ohio Casino Control Commission executive director, said the ban “will safeguard the integrity of sports gaming and will be in the best interests of the public.”

Sports betting operators have until March 1 to get rid of the prop betting option, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission.