September brings more than the novelty of two spanking-new football campaigns to North Carolina residents, and more than the novelty of their first legal college and NFL betting seasons. It also brings a new emphasis on agility — the ability to cut back and change direction — across several betting fronts.
Bettors nationwide have grasped this concept over the last six years, greeting the repeal of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act — which effectively outlawed sports betting — with their own bob-and-weave dash across prop, parlay, and moneyline playing fields.
In the North Carolina online sports betting market, agility also means adding the prop menu for the Carolina Panthers and 18 Division 1 schools to fall betting lineups.
National Council on Problem Gambling’s director speaks out
For the nonprofit National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), meanwhile, agility is a formal investment in the future. It’s an official term denoting a big portion of the $6.4 million, three-year grant the NFL awarded it last week.
Agility grants, which can be used to deploy research funding anywhere across America, will give the NCPG more options for its education efforts.
Keith Whyte, the NCPG’s executive director, discussed these topics in an interview with NCSharp.
He also addressed North Carolina’s college prop betting stance. The Tar Heel State allowed it with the March 2024 debut of legalized wagering while states like Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, and Louisiana have outlawed it.
Here’s a look at issues and areas of interest surrounding responsible gambling for college and professional sports bettors in North Carolina.
The pro angle: NCPG, NFL continue partnership
The NCPG, which is gambling-neutral, is the oldest organization studying problem gambling in the country. It began in 1972. The NFL has become its biggest donor.
The new grant from the NFL Foundation follows its original three-year, $6.2 million grant to the NCPG in October 2021, which was the largest in the nonprofit’s history. The latest grant will enable the NCPG to continue expanding its critical initiatives, ensuring that the organization can sustain and build on its significant progress since 2021.
The NFL’s funding supports three key NCPG programs:
- Modernizing and strengthening the National Problem Gambling Helpline (1-800-GAMBLER), a crucial resource for accessing problem gambling treatment, to enhance its efficiency, improve access across the country, and ensure that everyone who reaches out receives high-quality care.
- Developing and implementing the Agility Grants program, the first national grant initiative designed to reach communities underserved by problem gambling prevention programs.
- Awareness efforts, including the ResponsiblePlay.org website, to educate fans and the public on responsible gambling practices.
“Over the next three years, we have the opportunity to prove that prevention programs work,” Whyte told NCSharp. “We want to be able to identify community-based programs that measurably reduce problem-gambling risk.
“Once we have that model, we can set a goal that every single community in the United States has the resources to implement these programs. That would reduce problem gambling.”
Whyte said the discovery process over the next three years might work like previous social models addressing reducing youth smoking. The strategy is to get pertinent information about potential gambling problems to kids and young adults before they ever start playing. That would reduce the odds they will fall into a significant gambling hole because of insufficient knowledge.
“You might use a PSA, or you could train youth leaders,” Whyte said. “You could get help from assistant pastors; you can train assistant coaches; you can go into boys and girls clubs, go into schools.”
In North Carolina, the Stacked Deck curriculum is taught at middle and high schools across the state. Run through the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Stacked Deck has a similar goal of stemming youth problem gambling before it worsens.
NFL shines a bright light on problem gambling
Whyte credits the NFL with providing more than money. Its visibility and credibility, amplified by messages like Kurt Warner’s commercial this season, underscore a high-profile push for gamblers to stay within financial bounds.
“The most important contribution from the NFL goes beyond its funding,” Whyte said. “This is recognition from a global organization not directly involved in gambling. Yes, the NFL has its partnerships, etc., but it does not take bets.
“The NFL was the first major sports organization to recognize that problem gambling is a public health issue. Now most of the other leagues are getting involved with us too. Can you imagine what happens when we also obtain … major sponsorships from those organizations?”
White said he is happy that the NFL extended its commitment to the NCPG. Beyond the funding, it drove nearly 1 million people to the nonprofit’s ResponsiblePlay.org website last year. There, players can find tips about staying within their means.
The information helps bettors wade into the gambling waters rather than plunging in unprepared.
Sportsbooks also have upgraded their messaging and technological content around problem gambling. One of the top prevention devices is a limit gamblers can voluntarily place on themselves for one day, a week, a month, or even a year. When a player hits a designated loss total, they are shut out of the site for the prescribed period.
This helps people avoid chasing losses or gambling impulsively amid an adrenaline rush.
The college angle: North Carolina props up sportsbooks
North Carolina has become an ally of operators, levying a reasonable 18% tax rate compared to the 51% levied by New York state. Prop bets are an increasingly prominent revenue source for sportsbooks. States allowing prop bets also help their own bottom line via tax collection, but they are taking a harder look at the safety of college athletes in this environment.
The NCAA has urged states to implement anti-harassment measures. These would include a reporting system to allow states to put bettors who harass student-athletes on a list that prevents them from being able to place bets. Whyte says on the issues facing North Carolina bettors and athletes,
“One of the things we have learned over the years that we can pass on to North Carolina players is to underscore that sports betting has changed dramatically. I think the issue of harassment on college campuses is an old one, going back to the days of college point-shaving scandals.
“What we’d say now is that social media has magnified the problem, although there is a difference between harassment on campus and public gambling health, which is our focus.
One of the major challenges facing all regulators in the country is the difficulty in tracking and prosecuting bettors who harass athletes. Since these cases cross state boundaries, they fly beyond state regulatory agencies and rise to the level of federal intervention.
It’s a problem on the FBI’s radar, and it has already taken down high-profile bettors harassing athletes.
Football season presents litmus test for NC sports betting
The 2024-2025 football season presents a major opportunity for the fledgling NC sports betting industry.
There is plenty of opportunity for operators and the state to rake in money. Regulators will also have opportunities to ensure everyone is playing fairly and with respect and integrity for the game and the athletes.
By funding the NCPG, the NFL is sending the signal that it’s on board with regulators doing what’s needed to create a healthy market. In the next few months, NC regulators will have a chance to prove their mettle as bet volume increases and the sports betting season enters its highest point.
Image Credit: Susan Haigh / AP Images
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