Months after Charlie Baker's calls to ban college sports gambling, NCAA strikes deal to sell data to sportsbooks

Months after NCAA president Charlie Baker called for a ban on college sports gambling, the NCAA agreed to sell its gambling data to sportsbooks through Genius Sports, Sportico reported.

The move announced on Friday will allow Genius Sports the right to sell live data from every NCAA championship sport through 2032, in an expansion of an original college sports gambling deal between both sides. Financial details of the deal weren't reported.

Events available include the men's and women's basketball March Madness tournaments but not the regular season or the College Football Playoff games.

Contrary to professional leagues, the NCAA has always kept a distance from gambling companies. While the Association and Genius have kept a relationship since 2018, there has been no advertising of gambling companies at NCAA events.

Only four months ago, Charlie Baker appeared before the Senate pleading for more control over sports betting, arguing security concerns. According to Baker, around 12% of the abuse athletes receive on social media comes from disgruntled bettors. He also mentioned a case in which the NCAA had to put a security detail because of a threat posted by a gambler.

That wasn't the only time Baker called for more control on gambling. About a year ago, the NCAA leader had called for a ban on prop bets through a statement, with the intention of guarding the integrity of the game.

"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. The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets," the NCAA statement read.

While sports gambling data deals are common for professional leagues, college sports presented a unique challenge, as it was unclear who the data belonged to.

---

Prop bets at the heart of NCAA college sports gambling issues

Most of the college sports gambling concerns for the NCAA come from player prop bets. With thousands of players competing, maintaining the integrity of the competition can be a tall task, especially with many players with limited earnings.

Player prop bets have been an issue in the NBA as well. Jontay Porter was banned from the league after it was found that he participated in a prop bet fraud scheme, refusing to play to keep his numbers under the line.

In that regard, the deal with Genius Sports could help the NCAA maintain better control over college sports gambling. Under the agreement, sportsbooks would agree to limit the "risky bets". That would limit the amount or type of prop bets open to the public, minimizing the risk of tanking or match-fixing.