Indiana Pauses Player Prop Betting Decision
Jesse M. Cox Published 09/07/2026
The Indiana Gaming Commission (IGC) is pushing the pause button on deciding the future of college player prop betting in the state until September. Further research is required before a final verdict can be determined, the IGC ruled. State lawmakers are currently considering Senate Bill 120, which would prohibit sportsbooks from offering proposition bets and would impose up to $10,000 penalties on student-athletes found to be betting on their own sports.
The NCAA and Indiana member schools Purdue, Butler, and Indiana are pushing for a prop betting ban on all college sports in the state. They argue that these bets are leading to harassment of student-athletes.
Indiana Senate Bill 120 would punish college players caught prop betting on their sport
Senate Bill 120 (SB 120) was introduced during the regular session of the 2026 Indiana General Assembly. It would place prohibitions on college sports player prop betting if passed into law. It would also punish any college athletes caught betting on their sport with civil penalties.
This bill introduces new regulations regarding proposition bets in sports wagering. These would be prop bets specifically targeting collegiate athletes. A proposition bet is a wager on a specific event or outcome within a game. This type of wager does not have a direct connection to the final score.
Under the new law, licensed sports betting sites in Indiana would be forbidden from accepting proposition bets from collegiate athletes in the sport they play. The bill supplies the IGC with the authorization to impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 on any collegiate athlete attempting to or successfully placing a proposition bet in their own sport. The collection of civil penalties under this provision will go directly into the state general fund.
The bill is currently in front of the Government Affairs Committee. If passed into law, the bill would go into effect on July 1, 2026. The bill aims to prevent potential conflicts of interest and maintain the integrity of collegiate sports by restricting athletes from betting on their own competitions.
Indiana universities are supportive of a college player prop ban
Speaking at a recent meeting of the IGC, several representatives from Indiana's leading universities voiced their support of the plan for a college player prop ban in the state. The NCAA feels these wagers, many of them based on a player's personal stats in a game, are leading to harassment of student-athletes by bettors who lost their player prop wagers on that player.
“We recognize that legal sports betting is now an established part of the sports landscape,” Purdue Athletic Director Mike Bobinski wrote in a letter supporting the NCAA's position. “However, individual proposition bets on college student-athletes create unique risks that are not present – or are significantly reduced – in traditional wagers based on team outcomes.
“These wagers place the focus of betting activity directly on individual young people and expose them to unnecessary pressures that can impact both student-athlete welfare and the integrity of collegiate competition.”
Currently, 19 of the 38 states that offer legal and regulated sports betting prohibit college player prop betting.
Sports betting industry reps insist that bans don't work
The Sports Betting Alliance (SBA), an industry lobby group, was countering this argument. They suggest that banning prop betting on college sports looks good in the public eye. However, under scrutiny, it doesn't hold up as an effective deterrent.
“It does not eliminate harassment,” SBA lawyer Scott Ward told the IGC, according to reporting by the South Bend Tribune. “It just eliminates critical visibility and data used by this commission and the NCAA to identify integrity concerns."
Ward argued that those seeking to make college prop bets will turn to unlicensed offshore sportsbooks.
“These prop bets will continue, just not under your watchful eye,” Ward said.
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