There is a potential revenue stream waiting to be exploited.

Attention college students, particularly those between the ages of 18 and 22 who may not have much money. The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s president wants you to spend whatever money you have betting on college sports. NCAA President Charlie Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts who had problems getting Massachusetts lawmakers to approve legalized sports betting but did sign a sports betting law in August 2022, spoke at the ‘The Future of College Sports’ event at the University of Arizona and said the NCAA should embrace legalized sports betting. “That’s a major opportunity, right in front of us. We have a major opportunity to get into the sports betting space. Anybody who has a phone able to bet from any place they want and two-thirds to almost three quarters of all people between the ages of 18 and 22 betting on sports.”

But Baker knows another thing, sports betting, legal or illegal, can destroy someone’s life but he is most concerned about student athletes. “The truth is, if there are lots of kids on campus betting on college sports and betting on the teams on their campus, this puts student-athletes in a very difficult position. Create a program that we hope we’re going to get everybody to endorse around helping them develop the tools and techniques (athletes are) going to need to deal with this stuff.” Charlie Baker’s NCAA role is simple. Maximize revenue streams and create interest in the products the NCAA is selling. The NCAA has just one product, athletic events and if someone, a bettor, is placing a wager on the event that means more interest and the more people who bet, the possibility of getting more marketing money exists. Sports operators don’t care about creating an environment which causes gambling addiction. They want an additional revenue stream.

Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191

Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com