The SEC has urged the NCAA to reconsider its decision to allow athletes to bet on professional sports.
In a memo sent to the NCAA, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey described the move as a ‘major step in the wrong direction’ and called for plans to be withdrawn.
Following a discussion on the topic during in-person meetings earlier this month, SEC presidents and chancellors are ‘clear and united’ that the NCAA’s decision should be reversed.
The two-page letter was seen by Yahoo Sports which said NCAA’s U-turn threatens the integrity of competition and makes athletes more vulnerable to exploitation.
At the start of October, news broke the NCAA was considering a proposal to let student-athletes to bet on pro sports – a shift in the longtime policy that has been increasingly difficult to enforce following the regulation of sports betting in the country.
Recently, the NCAA’s Division I cabinet approved a rule change to permit the practice, and Division II and III management councils also signed off on it with initial plans for it to come into effect on Saturday, November 1.
However, the Division I board voted to delay it until November 22, one day after the close of a membership rescission period.
Student-athletes are still prohibited from betting on college sports and sharing information about college sports with bettors.
From the beginning, athletes and department staff were prohibited from betting on any sport at professional or collegiate level that are also played at NCAA level.
The NCAA world has been rocked by gambling scandals in recent times, including a case where two former Fresno State basketball players and their ex-teammate were slapped with lifetime bans for betting on their own games.
Additionally, the NCAA is pursuing another 13 gambling violations involving ex-college basketball players across six schools.
NCAA officials have emphasised the proposal is not an endorsement of sports betting and they remain concerned with the risks associated with all forms of gambling.
Joe Lyons is a betting industry writer for GamblingIndustryNews with years of experience on reputable gambling websites. Joe specialises in long form content in the world of sports betting and gambling. Joe is recognised as an expert in sports fields such as horse racing, soccer, NFL and NBA.
