Ohio colleges seek ban in betting on their sports

Ohio State doesn’t want you taking Michigan and the points.

The state’s flagship public university and its four-year brethren are asking lawmak- ers to prohibit betting on football and other collegiate sports as the state moves to authorize sports wagering.

Opponents of permitting bets on college football games and other ama- teur athletic contests worry it could potentially sully and compromise college athletics.

“The Ohio State Univer- sity is opposed to collegiate sports wagering in the state of Ohio,” said university spokesman Ben Johnson.

“Permi t ting wagering on collegiate sports poses risks of increased incidents of problem gambling and threats to the mental and financial well-being of our student populations and the integrity of university athletic programs,” Johnson said.

Bruce E. Johnson, pres- ident of the Inter-Univer- sity Council, which consists of Ohio’s 14 public universities, testified before the House Finance Committee this week to object to legislation that would allow bet- ting on both professional and collegiate sports.

House Bill 194 would authorize sports wagering at casinos, racinos and at designated veterans and fraternal organizations. It also would permit online and mobile betting through the Ohio Lottery Commission.

Sports betting could tempt college athletes to succumb to “human nature” and take payoffs to downgrade their performance, share infor- mation on injured players or alter the outcome of games, Johnson testified, noting the

NCAA also opposes legal wagering.

“It would not take a great leap of logic to conclude the risk of student athletes soliciting and accepting payments in order to influence the outcome of games may increase,” Johnson said.

If gambling on college sports is legalized, universities would need to spend money on expanded regulator and compliance programs to help monitor and help protect athletes, coaches and students from misconduct associated with gambling, he testified.