Louisiana To Ban College Player Prop Bets Before Football Season

According to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman, prop bets on college athletes will be banned in Louisiana starting Aug. 1, 2024.

“We did issue an order today (April 2),” Chairman Ronnie Johns told Gambling.com on Tuesday. “We have been working on it for a few weeks, well before the NCAA came out with their request.”

In a letter released on April 3, Johns reiterated what he told Gambling.com the day before regarding the Aug. 1 ban. The letter notes that the ban is aimed at any prop bet "on an individual athlete's performance or statistics participating in a college sporting event."

"Only proposition bets based on full team statistical results are permitted," the letter states.

The ban comes one month before the LSU Tigers open their 2024 schedule on Sept. 1 against the University of Southern California Trojans at Allegiant Stadium just west of the Las Vegas Strip. That game, the Vegas Kickoff Classic, will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast on ABC.

NCAA President Urges Prop Bans 

Recently, NCAA President Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts Republican governor, issued a statement asking all states that have legalized sports betting to pass laws prohibiting individual prop bets for college athletic events.

“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of 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."

Suspicious Betting Activity Reported

In addition to suspicious activity at professional levels, betting irregularities surrounding universities such as Temple and Alabama have called attention to prop bets (short for proposition bets).

Unlike a bet on the game's final outcome or similar team-related bets, prop wagers offer bettors a chance to put money on individual performances, such as the over/under on how many receptions a receiver might make in a football game.

Conceivably, a player could place a wager himself or alert other bettors that he will intentionally perform under the betting expectation. 

According to published accounts, several states, including Colorado, Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Oregon, have rules prohibiting prop betting on college athletes. ABC News reported that others, such as Illinois, Connecticut, and Iowa, do not allow college athlete prop bets involving in-state teams.