Missouri’s gaming commission rejected an NCAA request Thursday to restrict bets on individual college athlete performance, saying the state needs more data about how its newly approved sports betting market operates. The rejection came about one week after federal authorities indicted more than two dozen people in what the NCAA describes as a college basketball gambling scheme involving payments to athletes to rig games.
The NCAA contends that betting on specific athlete statistics creates opportunities for bribery and manipulation of college sports. Missouri’s gaming regulator, which approved sports betting just two months ago, said it wants to gather baseline data before adopting restrictions that could reshape the market.
Missouri permits sports betting on college athletes competing in out-of-state games but bans wagers on players from in-state colleges and universities.
“I just don’t feel that I have enough information to grant a request by the NCAA to prohibit this type of sports wagering, because I don’t know enough yet,” said Jan Zimmerman, chair of the Missouri Gaming Commission.
NCAA’s Campaign Against Athlete Betting
The NCAA’s request came in response to a federal indictment involving more than 39 players on more than 17 NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams who allegedly attempted to rig more than 29 games. Prosecutors accused them of participating in a scheme involving bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy.
In a letter to state gambling regulators, NCAA President Charlie Baker wrote that his office “regularly hears concerns from schools and student-athletes across the country on the impacts of sports betting,” particularly regarding prop bets focused on individual player performance such as points scored or passing yardage.
The NCAA has pushed states since 2023 to restrict or ban college athlete prop bets. Four states—Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio and Vermont—have adopted full bans on such wagers. Roughly a dozen other states prohibit them entirely, while a similar number place no limits on collegiate prop bets.
Sports Betting Market Expansion
Through the first 11 months of 2025, legal sportsbooks across the United States generated $15 billion in revenue, up 17 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the American Gaming Association. Missouri became the 39th state to allow sports betting when voters approved a constitutional amendment on December 1, 2025, but the state has not yet reported initial betting revenues.
Sportsbooks Oppose NCAA Request
The Sports Betting Alliance—which includes Bet365, BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Betting & Gaming—opposed the NCAA’s request in written comments to the Missouri Gaming Commission. The alliance argued that its members detected and disclosed the scheme that led to the recent indictment and that legal sportsbooks help authorities identify wrongdoing that might otherwise go undetected if bettors placed wagers through unregulated operations.
“Restricting prop bets on college athletes would drive gamblers to ‘offshore and illegal operators’ with fewer consumer protections,” Kansas City sports wagerer Chuck Kucera wrote in comments to the commission. He added that the NCAA’s efforts would be better directed toward “player education, internal compliance, and enforcement of its own rules.”