Gambling in the sports community is quickly becoming a bigger issue than it had been and recently the NCAA made their position on their athletes gambling very clear.  College athletes are not allowed to gamble in any type of sports related game, end of sentence, and the recent rumor about Florida baskeball player Nick Calathes losing money while playing online poker has set the NCAA on fire.  The rumor was released by Yahoo and after careful review of it by the Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan and Athletic Director Jeremy Foley, it was found that the story was an attempt to simply injure Calathes’ reputation.

Donovan and Foley reviewed the entire situation surrounding Calathes with compliance officers and the NCAA.  Playing online poker is not against the NCAA student-athlete rules, and as a matter of fact the NCAA is very proactive in working on warding against gambling scandals that their athletes could get involved in.  According to Donovan in a quote in the Gainesville Sun, the NCAA has basically worked with the Mafia to develop methods the college association could use to detect and guard against gambling corruption rings.  Some of the methods have included observing suspicious betting patterns.

Online Casino Advisory’s sports analyst Ed Crumley felt that Donovan’s statements were very revealing over how the NCAA is working on this issue.  "While it is clear that the NCAA has legislated against sports gambling, online poker, Internet casino gambling, or other gaming not involving sports do not disqualify the athlete. But while defending his player, Coach Donovan shows ignorance on the subject himself.  By mentioning some affiliation between the NCAA and organized crime, Donovan foolishly raises the mistaken stereotype of gambling operators as criminals. If he were more aware of the subject, he would know that the NCAA is only duplicating steps taken long ago in Europe."

Crumley went on to point out that the cooperation between sports leagues and online casinos is a good thing and the online casinos are being viewed as legitimate businesses.  They share information on wagers and unusual activities with the NCAA, just as Nevada casino sportbooks and casinos, as evidenced in the catching of Arizona State point guard Stevin Smith.  He feels that while Donovan understands the importance of sharing the information between the two entities in an effort to avoid corruption and gambling pitfalls, Donovan has yet to learn that the stigma of gambling is undeserved and not mob-based.

Said Crumley, "The best thing for Donovan, Florida Gator basketball, and the NCAA would be transparent gambling media, in partnership with well-regulated online casinos. Such a relationship would help keep college sports free of gambling issues, and only leave the massive problem of booster influence to resolve."