NCAA President Charlie Baker urges state lawmakers to ban prop betting on college athletes

NCAA President Charlie Baker on Wednesday urged lawmakers in states with legal wagering on sporting events to ban betting on individual player performances.

“Sports betting issues are on the rise across the country with prop bets continuing to threaten the integrity of competition and leading to student-athletes getting harassed,” Baker said in statement posted on social media. "The NCAA has been working with states to deal with these threats and many are responding by banning college prop bets.”

Prop bets allow gamblers to wager on statistics a player will accumulate during a game. The NBA has opened an investigation into Toronto Raptors two-way player Jontay Porter amid gambling allegations related to his own performance in individual games.

Ohio, Vermont and Maryland are among the states that have removed prop betting on college athletes. Baker said NCAA officials are reaching out to lawmakers in other states to encourage similar bans.