Perhaps no organization in the United States is more experienced at publicly advocating for a position that data show is invalid than the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Research the NCAA recently conducted has weakened its argument for one of its biggest positions on online gambling in the US.
The NCAA’s continued folly aside, the research is another confirmation of what is already obvious. Failing to regulate US online casino play is not only ineffective as a deterrent to people gambling in such a way, but it is only making the situation worse.
The NCAA says gambling restrictions don’t work
In the latest example of the NCAA admitting it was wrong and it knew it was wrong but did what it did anyway, the association’s Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports (CSMAS) delivered some findings to anyone interested on Oct. 1, 2024. Key among those findings is that “in general, prohibitions are ineffective at stopping unwanted gambling behaviors, and there is little evidence to suggest that current prohibitions have effectively prevented” gambling that violates the NCAA’s by-laws by athletic workers.
In simpler language, the CSMAS stated that people involved in our sports entertainment business are gambling in ways that break our rules. We know they are, but we can’t really do much about it. Details are scant about exactly how CSMAS arrived at this conclusion.
It’s important to view that finding in context. CSMAS is making this statement in reference to campus athletic workers betting on sports in which the NCAA sponsors championships. Therefore, the findings don’t extend to any other situation even though the NCAA probably won’t respond accordingly.
The NCAA’s illogical stance
The CSMAS finding flies in the face of NCAA President Charlie Baker calling for state governments to carve individual collegiate athlete prop bets out of regulated systems for sports wagering. If restrictions on gaming don’t curtail such activity, at least among current athletic workers according to CSMAS, then Baker seems to be advocating for a “solution” that isn’t.
It’s unlikely that Baker or the NCAA will let facts get in the way of a good story, however. The insistence upon deregulating individual athlete prop betting markets is in keeping with the demonstrably false narrative that athlete well-being is the primary concern of the NCAA.
The NCAA and its member institutions have built their chattel economy cartel over the course of decades on falsehoods with broad impunity, so there’s little reason to expect any deviance on this point. For the time being, the current system serves the financial interests of member institutions.
State governments don’t have to follow suit when it comes to enacting bad gaming policy, though. The CSMAS findings should remind us that choosing not to regulate online casino play has consequences.
What the CSMAS finding suggests for online casino play in the US
The findings of the CSMAS correlate to other information that points to a lack of regulation failing to prevent unwanted gambling behavior in the larger US population. As another example, the American Gaming Association said that in 2023 people in the US wagered more than $338 billion on unregulated online casino websites.
The CSMAS finding points toward something that people in the gaming industry already know and want to communicate to state lawmakers. If you truly believe that keeping online casino platforms unregulated in your state means your constituents aren’t gambling in such a way, there are probably some unscrupulous real estate “agents” who would love to sell you some oceanfront property in Iowa.
In fact, it’s the lack of regulation in your state that is allowing potentially harmful online casino gaming to thrive among your population. The problem is bigger than unlicensed online slots existing.
How unregulated online gaming hurts people
When it comes to unregulated online casino play, there are three primary concerns:
- Consumer protections
- Opportunity costs for states in terms of revenue that is not being captured
- Vulnerabilities for individuals who struggle with gambling-related behavioral issues
On the first concern, unregulated gaming sites may maintain poor standards for privacy and security of consumer information. Furthermore, there are no governmental safeguards to ensure that website operators are dealing fairly with players in terms of not delaying or withholding winnings, recognizing deposits, or offering games that are not rigged to benefit the house.
If the only concern was that people who gamble on unregulated websites might be cheated, then that could be a natural consequence of doing business with an untrustworthy enterprise. Unfortunately, there is real danger besides the buyer beware principle.
Unregulated gaming thrives on problem gambling
The biggest concern of unregulated online casino play is the danger it poses for people who deal with gambling-related behavioral issues. Not only do such websites rarely afford people an option to self-exclude, but they rarely offer further resources for players like customizable deposit and time limits.
Along the same lines, Know Your Customer and age verification systems in unregulated platforms are often weak if present at all. A lack of such systems creates opportunities for money laundering and for adolescents, even children, to access such gaming.
A final concern is the loss of licensing and tax revenue from regulated online casino play that could be supporting public services in states. Combined with the expense associated with the symptoms of problem gambling, the public cost of choosing not to regulate online casino play is high.
As the CSMAS findings also point toward, so is the cost of enacting legislation to regulate gaming but not actually enforcing those standards.
Regulatory frameworks are only as good as their enforcement
The CSMAS research shows that creating rules and then hoping for the best is foolish. Among the greatest general misunderstandings of the NCAA’s relationship with its member institutions is that the NCAA is like a law enforcement agency for those colleges and universities.
The reality is that the NCAA has no authority to enforce bylaws other than which member institutions allow it. Each college and university is really responsible for enforcing those bylaws on its own.
Because the enforcement mechanisms in collegiate sports are arbitrary and self-interested, it’s no wonder that gambling behavior by athletic workers defies the rules on such activity. In the same way, states that merely enact legislation to regulate online casinos and then punt on tightly enforcing the rules are blowing hot air.
It would be folly to assume that all of that $338 billion wagered on unregulated online casino sites in 2023 came from people in states that don’t yet regulate online casino play. There is evidence that taking even the most remedial measures to enforce statutes can be effective, though.
So far, 14 US jurisdictions have been able to convince offshore online casino website operator Harp Media to stop accepting plays from people within their borders using nothing more than simple cease and desist letters. All 14 have some kind of regulated framework for online gambling, including six that regulate online casino play.
CSMAS has confirmed the obvious, but reminders are good. A lack of regulation for online casino play does not curtail such gaming and regulation without enforcement is futile.