New Bill Seeks To Ban College Athletes Placing Prop Bets In Indiana

You’ve heard the old saying about closing the barn door after the cows get out? Well, in Indiana, they are working to get the barn door closed with all the cows safely tucked away in their stalls.

To put it into simpler terms, the state government is proposing to pass a law to make something illegal that is already prohibited.

Indiana Senate Bill SB120, just introduced to the State Senate, would make it illegal for college athletes to place prop wagers on the sport in which they are competing. In other words, a college basketball player couldn’t place a prop bet on a college basketball game, whether or not the player placing the bet was an active participant in the game.

Not only will the bill prohibit sports betting sites from accepting proposition bets from collegiate athletes in the collegiate sport they play in, but it will also impose a fine if any athlete attempts to place a proposition bet in their collegiate sport.

Here’s the thing, though – while it’s not specifically against the law, under NCAA rules, college athletes are prohibited from betting on any sport, whether it be pro or college.

To be fair, the genesis of this legislation began back in the fall. At that time, the NCAA was proposing to allow student-athletes to place wagers on pro sports events. Later, following a couple of high-profile betting scandals, the NCAA did an about-face and opted out of pursuing this plan. That decision came after a majority of NCAA Division I schools voted against this change in the rules.

This bill would change the Indiana Criminal Code

The proposed bill would effect a change to the Indiana Criminal Code. It would add an extra layer of punishment for any college athlete caught placing a prop bet on their sport. If a college athlete were found to have even attempted to place a prop wager on their sport, they would be facing a civil penalty of up to $10,000. That fine would be deposited in the state’s general fund.

Indiana State Senator Andy Zay, a Republican from Huntington, introduced Bill SB120 into the State Senate with first reading on December 9. The bill was referred to the Indiana Senate Committee on Public Policy.

The author of the bill has resigned from the Senate

Another issue that the bill could be facing is that its author is no longer a member of the Indiana State Senate.

Zay was recently appointed as the chair of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission by Governor Mike Braun. To accept this position, Zay is tendering his resignation as a State Senator.

Minus its champion, and considering the NCAA decision not to pursue the notion of allowing student-athletes to bet on sports, will Indiana Bill SB120 have the legs to continue its journey to become a law?

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