Geauxing, Geauxing, Gone: Louisiana Bans College Player Prop Betting

New NCAA President Charlie Baker apparently won’t be ignored. What started in November 2023 as a criticism of sportsbooks offering player props on college games has turned into a full campaign to ban college player prop betting nationwide. Baker outwardly urged a total ban last week, prompting Louisiana to become the latest state to prohibit college player props. It follows Ohio, who axed the practice in March. After Aug. 1, 2024, Louisianans won’t be offered those markets any longer.

This movement is anything but novel. Large betting markets like New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia never allowed the practice to begin with. Only four states with online sports betting offer a no-bars approach to college player props. Many others ban betting on in-state colleges, while the majority of states ban them altogether. As Baker’s campaign garners more support among legislatures, college player props are likely a temporary market.

Louisiana Bans Betting On College Player Props

“It is the intention of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to protect the integrity of sports betting as well as the safety and integrity of college athletes. We feel that this order accomplishes that goal,” said Chairman Ronnie Johns in a statement released Wednesday.

While Louisianans will be able to bet on player props for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament, Aug. 1 at 8:00 a.m. CT marks the end of those markets. Notably, that date falls before the 2024 LSU Tigers football season. The 2024 college football season fixes to be one of the most intriguing in decades. It ushers in a new era of conference realignment – with major powers moving leagues – and the 12-team Playoff, a controversial if not exciting new product.

College football and basketball are large and by far the most popular for player props. The LSU baseball team, which won the National Championship in 2023, didn’t see any props offered on its games until the final series. Also notable, LSU was a team involved in the high-profile Alabama baseball betting scandal.

These player props being banned only apply to individual games. Awards like the Heisman Trophy will continue to be offered, as will season-long stat markets.

Louisiana legal sports betting operates differently than the rest of the U.S. Rather than a sweeping green light across the Pelican State, individual parishes determine the legality. Of the 64 parishes in Louisiana, only nine haven’t legalized sports betting.

Charlie Baker Campaigns To Ban Props

The NCAA president again urged lawmakers to ban props to start April.

Betting on college player props, “continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student athletes getting harassed,” Baker said in his latest statement. That statement followed an Instagram story shared by N.C. State basketball star DJ Burns on Wednesday. The story depicted an anonymous letter sent to Burns following N.C. State’s Elite Eight victory, calling Burns just about every name in the book.

Harassment of college athletes on social media has also been on the rise. That increase in cases is one of the primary driving factors behind Baker’s campaign.

“[It’s]…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,” Baker said.

Multiple individual scandals, most recently in the NBA, also bolster Baker’s movement. In the college basketball ranks, the Temple Owls were briefly under fire for “suspicious wagering” as well as bizarre outcomes on the court.

Opposition to college player prop bans

Not everybody is on board with a nationwide college player prop ban. Opposition isn’t in favor of athlete harassment – they’re concerned with alternatives to betting on props at legal U.S. sportsbooks. Offshore sportsbooks may continue to offer college player props, prompting bettors to head offshore.

One of the primary drives behind using U.S.-regulated sportsbooks is that they protect bettors accounts. Offshore books have no legal backing to release funds back to bettors. But with more markets becoming increasingly restricted, the number of bettors turning to offshore may again rise – a number operators and legislatures worked tirelessly to cut down.

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