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The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) has banned betting on college player props after initially being allowed.
In his response to NCAA President Charlie Baker, OCCC Executive Director Matt Schuler announced his decision regarding player prop wagers. Ohio’s Gov. Mike DeWine also supported the proposal.
Bettors in Ohio can no longer place prop bets on individual player achievements. That includes “individual athlete’s performance or statistics participating in a sports event governed by the NCAA.”
The OCCC’s decision came after Baker sent a letter to Schuler asking for a ban to be implemented.
Ohio sports betting operators must apply these restrictions until 1 March.
DeWine supports collegiate prop bet changes issued by the OCCC
Several state entities supported the proposed changes. These include:
- Ohio universities
- Collegiate sports coaches
- Gambling industry representatives
DeWine applauded the sports betting changes supporting the removal of college prop bets from the list of legal sports bets in Ohio. According to the news release from the governor’s office, DeWine commented:
“The Ohio Casino Control Commission took quick action to protect student athletes from unnecessary and potentially harmful threats. 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.”
Ohio joins states that ban player-specific prop bets on collegiate competitions
Ohio joins a growing list of US gambling states that have transparent prohibitions on the market.
The proposed rule change would not impact professional sports contests. Players can still bet on the overall outcomes of the games and final scores of collegiate sports contests.
According to the OCCC, in 2023, Ohioans wagered roughly $104.6 million on player props. As a result, OH sportsbooks generated nearly $12 million in revenue, with total bets reaching $7.6 billion across all sports in the state.
As some operators claimed such prohibition would tempt bettors to use offshore sportsbooks, Schuler said:
“The operators are assuming that all those in the market to make these bets will go to illegal operators or bookmakers to place bets if the NCAA’s request is approved. The operators failed to provide any factual basis to support this assumption.
While some may revert to illegal operations, the vast majority of Ohioans engage only in legal gambling activity. Given the relatively small percentage of wagers placed on player-specific prop bets, I perceive the risk of a black market boom to be low.”
