Why Michigan, MSU fans may not be able to bet on players as NCAA moves to ban prop bets
Fans soon could be barred from placing prop bets on Michigan and Michigan State sports, as the NCAA announced Wednesday that it is working on banning player prop pets from college athletics.
The announcement comes during a period of intense scrutiny for sports gambling, as MLB Opening Day has been overshadowed by an alleged scandal involving Shohei Ohtani's translator Ippei Mizuhara, while the NBA is investigating Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter — the brother of Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. — for irregularities regarding two incidents with prop bets this season.
REQUIRED READING: Michigan State basketball: 5 tasks for Tom Izzo and the Spartans this offseason
The NCAA has also dealt with its share of betting issues, with one of the most notable cases including the suspension of several Iowa and Iowa State players across several sports.
Although many states have already banned prop bets in collegiate sports, no such law exists in Michigan. Michigan is one of just five states that allows prop bets on college games, alongside Kansas, Louisiana, and Wyoming, per Action Network. North Carolina is also a recent adopter. Some states, e.g. Illinois and Connecticut, only ban bets on collegiate players playing for in-state schools.
NCAA President Charlie Baker statement on sports betting
The call came from NCAA Preside Charlie Baker, who released a statement on how the NCAA would be contacting states that allowed prop bets.
"Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity and competition and leading to student athletes and professional athletes getting harassed," Baker said in a statement. "The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.
REQUIRED READING: Warde Manuel is starting to show a new side and it's one Michigan fans should like
"This week we will be contacting officials across the country in states that still allow these bets and ask them to join Ohio, Vermont, Maryland and many others and remove college prop bets from all betting markets," he said. "The NCAA is drawing the line on sports betting to protect student-athletes and to protect the integrity of the game -- issues across the country these last several days show there is more work to be done."
What is a prop bet?
Prop bets are defined as bets made on games that aren't directly tied to the final score. Some examples would be betting on if an individual player made or didn't make a dunk in a game, points scored by an individual player, or even which players will score first.
The NCAA is in the midst of the men's and women's NCAA Tournament, with the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight set to be underway from Thursday-Sunday.
REQUIRED READING: Michigan basketball's big pitch man to Dusty May: Ex-coach John Beilein
Why is the NCAA trying to ban prop bets?
The NCAA didn't announce why it's trying to ban prop bets, however, the announcement does come on the heels of an ESPN report that NBA forward Jontay Porter is under investigation for betting irregularities in games with the Raptors on Jan. 26 and March 20. Both instances were on prop bets, according to ESPN.
ESPN reported there was "increased betting interest" involving the under on Porter prop bets on Jan. 26 and March 20. Porter left the game on Jan. 26 early due to an injury, and early again on March 20 due to an illness. Those games were against the Clippers and Kings, respectively.
The Porter situation, while still being investigated, is not the only irregular report to come out of sports betting in recent memory.
Former Vanderbilt quarterback Mo Hasan recently said on an episode of "The Momentum Podcast" that he was offered $300,000 from the "Italian Mob" to fix college football games while playing for the Commodores.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why is the NCAA trying to ban prop bets? 'Drawing the line on sports betting'
