As the Maryland Terrapins prepare for the upcoming Big Ten men’s basketball tournament, bettors in the state are no longer able to wager on their favorite player’s game performance in Maryland sports betting.
That’s because state regulators informed the 12 licensed Maryland online sports betting operators, as well as the 13 approved brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, late last month that player prop bets on college student-athletes were no longer allowed as of March 1.
With that decision, Maryland joined the roughly two dozen states that similarly block sports betting operators, like DraftKings Sportsbook Maryland and BetMGM, from offering markets such as how many points, strikeouts, or yards a player would accumulate in a game. In all, Maryland Lottery and Gaming has barred 176 such wagers in college baseball, basketball, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer and wrestling.
Not all wagers on student-athletes are banned, though. Seth Elkin, the managing director of communications for Maryland Lottery and Gaming, told BetMaryland.com that sportsbooks, including Fanatics Maryland and DraftKings, still can take action on seasonal awards. That would include the Heisman Trophy in college football.
Maryland Prop Ban Follows Ohio
Maryland regulators took action less than a week after their counterparts in Ohio announced their ban. The Ohio Casino Control Commission acted after receiving a request from the NCAA on Jan. 31.
Elkin said the division did not receive a request from the NCAA or anyone else.
“We made the decision based on the growing trend of states that have disallowed college player prop bets in the interests of protecting college athletes from potential harassment related to their individual statistical performances,” Elkin told BetMaryland.com.
The threat of harassment was the primary driver for NCAA President Charlie Baker in making his request to Ohio. He noted several Ohio schools have reported their student-athletes facing harassment from bettors on several occasions. Baker also expressed concerns about integrity, saying that offering player prop markets could lead to student-athletes being coerced into fixing a game. For example, a featured player in a three-point prop market could choose not to shoot any such shots to help someone with a bet.
Further, Baker said such markets could “entice student-athletes into engaging in sports betting by betting on themselves” to go over a certain amount of points or other statistical benchmark.
In studying the issue, OCCC Executive Director Matt Schuler found that Ohio sportsbooks took $104.6 million in wagers on student-athlete player props in 2023. That represented less than 1.5% of the state’s $7.65 billion total handle for the year.
Besides Ohio, Maryland’s neighboring states – Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia – also prohibit sportsbooks from taking wagers on college player prop bets.
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