States that allow sports gambling now allowed to host NCAA championship events, for now

The NCAA has always supported federal gambling laws. One example of that was a policy that prohibited NCAA championship events from taking place in states that allow gambling. Up until recently that only impacted the state Nevada.

But since the Supreme Court ruled that the federal sports gambling ban was unconstitutional, and more states are working toward legalizing gambling, the NCAA is changing its stance a bit.

“While we recognize the critical role of state governments, strong federal standards are necessary to safeguard the integrity of college sports and the athletes who play these games at all levels,” Emmert said in a press release on Thursday.

He was even more direct in a statement made at a forum in New York City earlier this week. “Obviously, if you wind up with sports gambling everywhere in the country, we’re not going to stop playing championships.”

The NCAA has decided to temporarily allow championships to be played in states that allow sports gambling, and if many more states vote to join that group this could turn into a permanent policy change.

Currently, 4 additional states have recently voted to allow sports gambling: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Mississippi. But several states, including Kentucky, are making strides toward loosening those regulations, and an updated list can be found on ESPN’s sports betting tracker.

ESPN.com

Obviously, Las Vegas would love to get its hands on a Final Four, or even a regional event, in the near future. Vegas has been a destination city for several neutral-site games, and Kentucky has just added 2 dates to play there in the next 3 years.

Would you be pumped to see the Kentucky Wildcats cut down the nets in Las Vegas? Or do you oppose the temporary NCAA policy allowing championships to be played where sports gambling is legal?