For about a month and a half, online sports gambling has been legal in North Carolina. The Tar Heel state generated a sports betting handle of $659 million in March. Eight sportsbooks have a license in the state and they became legal on March 11. One major proponent of sports gambling’s legalization is Representative Jason Saine. In a sports betting bill, North Carolina is working to ban collegiate prop betting. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker has been working diligently to ban betting on collegiate props all around the country. This comes just months after sports gambling was legalized in North Carolina. Last week, Representative Marcia Morey said she plans to introduce a sports betting bill to ban wagers on props for collegiate athletes. This is expected to happen during their current session.

Will legislators ever be able to agree on sports betting in North Carolina?

Marcia Morey, 68, voted against the legalization of sports betting in initial diabetes that happened in North Carolina. Morey suggested several amendments which included banning betting on collegiate props. Additionally, she wanted to limit sports betting to in-person and ban online wagers. That included promotions offered by online sportsbooks. 

Representative Jason Saine feels differently on the matter. Saine was one of the main sponsors for the initial sports betting bill in North Carolina. He had this to say on why betting on collegiate props shouldn’t be banned in the state.

“If we ended it tomorrow, this kind of behavior would still continue with fanatical people,” – Saine told CBS 17, “Follow rules of society, you don’t threaten anybody, or you shouldn’t be. And, that’s kind of my take on it. I don’t think we need a whole new set of rules to pursue something like that.”

Which states have already outlawed being able to bet on collegiate props?

North Carolina is one of eight states that doesn’t have any type of restrictions for betting on collegiate props. Louisiana recently banned wagering on collegiate props and other states are soon to follow. Onio and Maryland banned betting on collegiate props earlier in 2024. New Jersey legislators are working for an outright ban on collegiate sports prop betting. 

UNC men’s basketball player Armando Bacot said that prop betting in college has gotten out of hand. Bacot specifically mentored a win vs. Michigan State this season where fans were mad about him not getting enough rebounds. He noted that he would get hundreds of DM’s about every game and be told he sucks for not cashing people’s bets. That’s not something that collegiate athletes should have to deal with. 

Legal analyst John Holden mentioned that when collegiate sports prop betting is banned, those wagers will be placed elsewhere. Most likely on the illegal market. That’s what the legalization of online sports gambling in North Carolina was trying to stop. It’s a slippery slope that North Carolina is dealing with.