2022 March Madness Debut of College Stars Profiting Off Their Likeness, Casino Buys In

New NCAA

Timme s casino commercials, which are only airing in select markets in the Spokane region, touch on the NCAA s previously most taboo subject gambling.

The NCAA led the federal lawsuit against New Jersey after the state moved to legalize sports betting more than a decade ago. The et al in the NCAA lawsuit included the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, which additionally opposed the legal expansion of sports betting. The sports leagues argued that widespread sports gambling would jeopardize the integrity of their games.

The US Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of New Jersey. The high court concluded that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) violated anti-commandeering interpretations of the US Constitution.

Sports betting became a state right following the historic May 2018 SCOTUS ruling. The decision essentially forced the NCAA and big four pro sports leagues into changing their thinking surrounding legal sports betting.

A massive embrace of the regulated gaming industry has since ensued, and that s highlighted by the Timme casino spots.

Not everyone is in favor of such marketing. Jeffrey Derevensky, director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors at Montreal s McGill University, says he was surprised to learn of the Timme casino commercials.

Here you have student-athletes that are endorsing or representing casinos where we re trying to get student-athletes not to engage in gambling, Derevensky told The Wall Street Journal.

Though the NCAA allows its student-athletes to partner with casinos for advertising purposes, the body continues to prohibit such athletes from betting money on any sport collegiate or professional in which the NCAA conducts a national championship. That means NCAA athletes are not supposed to be betting on football, basketball, or even fencing.

As for the rest of us, March Madness gets back on the hardwood tomorrow with the Sweet 16. No. 1 Gonzaga tips off the action against No. 4 Arkansas. The Bulldogs are favored by 9.5 points.

As for the remaining teams and their title odds, after Gonzaga at +220, Kansas has the next-shortest championship odds at +425. Rounding out the top five are Arizona +550, and Purdue and Houston at +900.

Cinderella Saint Peters, a 15 seed, is the longest at +25000. A winning $10 bet on that line and the Peacocks achieving the unthinkable would net $2,500.