NCAA lifts ban on championship events in legal betting states

States that offer legal sports betting will no longer be prohibited from hosting college championship events, according to the body that oversees US college sports.

On Thursday, the board of directors at the National Collegiate Athletics Administration (NCAA) issued some policy changes, including the decision to rescind the NCAA Championships Policy Related to Sports Wagering, which banned any state that legalized single-game betting from hosting college championship competitions.

The NCAA’s no-championships-for-you policy dates back to 2012, when the New Jersey state government approved its initial single-game sports betting legislation. The NCAA promptly pulled five collegiate championship events from the state, leading then State Sen. Ray Lesniak to slam the NCAA’s approach as “ludicrous and hypocritical.”

The NCAA lifted its New Jersey ban the following year but continued to oppose the state’s betting legislation in court, along with the four major North American pro leagues. However, when the US Supreme Court determined in May 2018 that the leagues were on the wrong side of history, the NCAA did an abrupt about-face and began advocating for federal betting regulations.