SBC Americas

Congress watching NCAA closely regarding athlete betting change

A Congressional committee that helps to oversee sports in the U.S. has written to the NCAA to question the wisdom of the league’s decision to lift its longstanding ban on student-athletes voting on professional sports.

The GOP Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie, is one of the authors of a letter sent to NCAA President Charlie Baker on Oct. 30.

Six lawmakers signed letter to Baker

“The timing of the NCAA’s decision to allow student athlete and staff participation in professional sports betting raises questions about sports betting and integrity of sport in the NCAA,” wrote Guthrie and five other lawmakers, referencing numerous recent betting-related controversies in both college and pro sports.

The authors noted that Baker himself has previously expressed concern over the harms that sports betting may cause to young people, as well as the integrity and abuse risks that may be posed by player prop betting.

“Given recent events, the NCAA’s ..

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SBC Digital Player Protection: Shaping the future of RG

Join SBC Media on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, as we present the latest iteration of SBC Digital Player Protection in partnership with 1xBet.

The global conversation on safer gambling will take center stage during a full-day digital-only conference dedicated to advancing responsible gaming, regulatory cooperation and player wellbeing across the international betting and gaming landscape. The event will unite regulators, operators, legal experts, academics and thought leaders from around the world to explore how innovation, ethics and regulation can evolve together in the digital age.

Across six key sessions, attendees will gain insight into how technology, collaboration and transparency are shaping the future of responsible gambling.

Session and speakers

Are Stronger Regulations Giving Way to a Stronger Illegal Market?

As governments worldwide impose tighter controls, do stricter rules genuinely strengthen compliance or do they drive players to underground channels? Our panel will ex..

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NCAA delays pro sports betting to allow schools to vote on rule change

The NCAA is postponing a rule change to allow gambling on professional sports as the matter receives pushback from key stakeholders across college sports.

The national governing body of college sports is delaying a rule change to allow pro sports gambling from Nov. 1 to Nov. 22, allowing DI membership institutions to vote on the issue.

NCAA recession period kicks in

The NCAA allows Division I institutions to vote whether to rescind an approved rule change within 30 days if a rule proposal doesn’t receive at least 75% of votes from the DI Board. The board voted to adopt the proposal, but with less than 75% of the votes.

Nov. 22 is one day after the NCAA closes a membership rescission period. At least two-thirds or more of the institutions need to vote against the rule change for it to be rescinded. In order for a rule change to be implemented, councils from DII and DIII must also approve a rule proposal. The proposal was initially approved by DII and DIII councils.

Potential rule c..

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Former EMU basketball players fail to comply with NCAA gambling probe

Three former college basketball players tied to alleged sports betting violations failed to cooperate with an investigation initiated by the national governing body of college sports.

The NCAA announced that three former men’s basketball student-athletes at Eastern Michigan failed to comply with an investigation into potential sports wagering violations.

The three former players, Jalin Billingsley, Da’Sean Nelson and Jalen Terry, are no longer enrolled at Eastern Michigan or with the men’s basketball program. The players also have no remaining collegiate eligibility and faced potential permanent ineligibility.

“When individuals choose not to cooperate—particularly when cases involve potential integrity issues—those choices can and will be met with serious consequences, including prohibitions on athletically related activities, the loss of eligibility and/or being publicly named in an infractions decision,” said the Division I Committee on Infractions.

Active NCAA bylaws prohibit wa..

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Gambling industry responds to NBA’s latest gambling scandal

The NBA found itself embroiled in another gambling-related controversy, leading key stakeholders in the gaming industry to respond to a new round of allegations.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncy Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard and assistant coach Damon Jones were arrested on Thursday following an FBI investigation that found alleged misconduct tied to gambling.

The three NBA personnel were among more than 30 people arrested after the FBI uncovered alleged illegal gambling and wire fraud worth tens of millions of dollars.

NBA coach allegedly involved in rigged poker games

Billups, who coached in Portland’s season opener earlier this week, was allegedly involved in an illegal, rigged poker operation with ties to the Italian Mafia, according to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. The alleged operation offered rigged games that used advanced technology to read and shuffle cards.

“Today’s events are ..

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Canada’s attempt to federally regulate betting ads advances

The Canadian Senate has given fast-track approval to a senator’s latest attempt to establish national regulatory guidelines for online sports betting advertising.

Sen. Marty Deacon’s S-211 was expedited at the committee stage earlier this month and approved without opposition via voice vote on the full chamber floor on Tuesday. It will now head before the House of Commons, where the same effort under a different bill (S-269) hit a roadblock last year amid upheaval in the legislature and the ultimate resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The National Framework on Sports Betting Advertising Bill would mandate that Canada’s Minister of Canadian Heritage must consult and collaborate with various stakeholders to establish a national framework on sports betting advertising.

The framework would focus on identifying ways to regulate betting ads in Canada, with a view to restricting their use, number, scope or location. It would also compel the Canadian government to identify measure..

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NBA’s Rozier and Billups implicated in mass FBI gambling investigation

Prominent NBA players and coaches are embroiled in perhaps the biggest gambling-related controversy ever to involve the league.

The FBI announced Thursday it has arrested dozens of people as a result of years-long investigations into alleged illegal sports betting and rigged poker games, leading to the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cleveland Cavaliers guard Damon Jones.

The three NBA personnel were among over 30 people arrested in the two separate investigations, which had some overlap between them. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. noted at a press conference on Thursday that all charges are currently unproven.

Billups allegedly involved in Mafia-run illegal poker games

Billups, a five-time NBA All-Star, was arrested for his alleged involvement in an illegal poker operation allegedly backed by the Italian Mafia.

Nocella told reporters that the bureau believes the operat..

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NCAA officially lifts ban on professional sports betting

The NCAA is just days away from allowing student-athletes and staff to bet on pro sports.

The organization’s Division III Management Council voted to adopt a proposal that lifts the NCAA’s ban on professional sports wagering. The council was the last step for the ban lift after the proposal was approved by committees from DI and DII earlier this month.

The NCAA previously prohibited sports wagering by all student-athletes, coaches and team officials on all events sponsored by the organization, including pro competition.

Starting Nov. 1, the NCAA will allow pro sports betting but will maintain its ban on college sports wagering and sharing gambling-related information with third parties. The NCAA will continue to provide gambling education and enforce its ban on college-related wagering.

“Our focus remains on education and harm reduction,” said Jason Verdugo, Chair of the Division III Management Council and Athletics Director at Wisconsin-Eau Claire. “We want to make sure student-at..

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‘Too easy’ to manipulate prop bets, says NBA’s Adam Silver

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says the league has asked its sportsbook partners to pull back on the range of prop bets they offer, suggesting that it is “too easy” to manipulate certain markets at the cost of sporting integrity.

Speaking on an episode of The Pat McAfee Show released Tuesday, Silver said that “the worst case scenario” for the league and everyone involved is a player trying to impact their own performance for the purposes of a bet.

NBA have asked operators for fewer prop bets

Silver confirmed that the NBA has asked some of its betting partners to pare down their prop betting menu.

“I’s too easy to manipulate something which seems otherwise small and inconsequential to the overall score,” Silver opined. “Maybe it’s the couple rebounds that some player gets or whatever. We’re trying to put in place, working with the betting companies, some additional controls to prevent some of that manipulation.”

“There’s nothing more important than the integrity of the competition.”
..

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MA regulators consider rules around VIP sportsbook host compensation

Just days after tackling the subject of limiting bettors, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) held a discussion on another hot-button issue.

On Thursday the group of five commissioners listened to a presentation from MGC Chief of Sports Wagering Carrie Torrisi and MGC Director of Research and Responsible Gambling Mark Vander Linden.

The two offered an overview of how the VIP industry works in sports betting based on information they requested from operators and obtained via the commission’s own research and offered recommendations for potential regulatory changes as it pertains to them going forward.

Sportsbook VIPs are generally men age 35-45

The presentation offered some insights into a facet of the business that lacks a lot of open information and clarity.

Torrisi and Vander Linden confirmed that the most common demo for VIP customers is men in their late 30s to early 40s and, on average, participated as a VIP for 10 months. The data varied substantially by operators, but..

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