NCAA President Charlie Baker Wants Prop Betting On College Sports Banned

Sports gambling is back in the spotlight this week after a recent investigation into sports betting on college athletics.

Several players from the Fresno State and San Jose State basketball programs were permanently suspended by the NCAA for attempting to manipulate games they had bet on. This isn’t the first time sports betting has impacted college or pro sports, and given the rapid proliferation of prop bets, it’s almost certainly not the last.

But the NCAA’s current president wants to try to make it the last.

RELATED: NCAA Has 'Permanently Suspended' Three Men's Basketball Players After Gambling Investigation

In a CNBC interview, NCAA president Charlie Baker said he wants prop bets out of college sports as much as possible.

NCAA president Charlie Baker speaks during College Athlete Day at the White House. (Josh Morgan/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Charlie Baker Talks Damage Caused By Prop Betting

In the interview, Baker said prop betting in particular has caused an immense amount of damage and "havoc" for young people and athletes.

"I’d like to get prop betting out of college sports as much as possible — that piece has caused the most havoc for young people," he said. "Whether a team wins or loses is one thing, but when you have people by the bench or the arena entrance screaming at kids about not making bank on what they bet — it’s horrific.

"We track traffic directed at them on public handles during our championships; DMs are worse than the public stuff, and the public stuff is grim. The big goal is to get rid of prop betting to the fullest extent possible. So far, more than half the states aren’t doing prop betting; we’re trying to negotiate the rest out.

"We run the biggest integrity program in the world — we track an enormous amount of traffic. Our deal with Venmo creates protections and opportunities for kids to report really bad behavior directed at them. We’ve educated over 100,000 student-athletes on campus about things to watch for and treat as triggers — much of it taught by former student-athletes who share how they got pulled in and into trouble. And we’ve told kids: if you get into a bad spot, come talk to someone — no one’s getting punished for that. We want you to feel safe coming forward."

He has a point. Prop betting makes it easier to blame one person for a bet that didn’t cash. Bet on a player to score 30 points, and he scores 22? It’s much easier to target that player — send DMs, Venmo requests, or hurl abuse. It also increases the temptation for players to "throw" their own performances. If players know there’s a prop on points scored or field goals missed, those numbers are easier to manipulate.

Here’s the problem — prop betting has become an inseparable part of the modern sports viewing experience. It’s also a major driver of recent ratings, particularly in football. And sports betting promotion is now embedded across the sports world — in media and in team marketing.

Think FanDuel-branded TV networks and ESPN Bet–sponsored highlights that spotlight props. Fans won’t want to give that up — even if maybe they should.