Those who oppose legalized college sports gambling believe it would undermine the integrity of competition. They envision nefarious characters prying athletes and/or their classmates for information on player availability. They fear athletes losing bets and, in desperation, rigging outcomes to win subsequent wagers.

Moreover, administrators such as ACC commissioner John Swofford have said that athletes have shared their concerns about backlash from gamblers, in-person or on social media, who blame them for lost bets.

During a July congressional hearing on protecting the integrity of college athletics, Pittsburgh athletic director Heather Lyke told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the ACC’s 15 presidents unanimously oppose all sanctioned gambling on college sports.

“While we understand that gambling on professional sports is here to say,” Lyke testified, “we urge Congress to directly address gambling on intercollegiate athletics and prohibit it.”

Such was the case until 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a decision that allows states to craft their own standards. According to the American Gaming Association, 22 states and the District of Columbia have since adopted legal sports gambling, with Maryland, Louisiana and South Dakota to vote on ballot initiatives in November.