Gambling continues to be an increasingly daunting feature of the sports world, with its risks particularly pervasive in collegiate athletics. It’s becoming harder to blame the athletes themselves, as the sports and entertainment industry seems to be all in on sports betting. It is promoted on TV, on billboards, in the stadiums, and just about everywhere in between.1 The NCAA itself has even struggled to manage gambling, as it considered walking back the blanket no-gambling rule in favor of a rule that allowed college athletes to bet on pro-sports only. Of course, the NCAA rescinded that rule2 and reinstated the total ban on gambling, but that saga further proved how difficult it is for leagues and athletic institutes to manage it.
On the one hand, athletic leagues and associations have to uphold the integrity of their product. It is the backbone to the success of sports and without it, everything crumbles. In that sense, it seems rational to limit an athlete’s ability to gamble as to ensure there is not even the appearance of misconduct.
But on the other hand, these athletes are people just like everyone else. They have autonomy interests, and many argue that they should not be preemptively barred from doing something anyone else can do to prevent misconduct that “rarely” occurs.
The competing interests are high, and the difficulty in coming to a solution reflects exactly that. The recent story of former University of Cincinnati Quarterback Brenden Sorsby (now with Texas Tech) is the product of the confusion, stigma, and competing problems that surrounds gambling in the collegiate context. It has recently come to light that Sorsby has placed thousands of wagers while being a collegiate athlete.3 His gambling habits extend back to when he was under center at Indiana and eventually triggered an NCAA investigation leading to his entry into a treatment program.4 This was not an unforeseeable story. Sorsby is a college athlete during
[1]the era of uncertainty. NIL has taken off, the rules against gambling are more than unclear, and Sorsby peers that are non-athletes are being sold new ways to gamble every day. The ability to access money and a means to gamble has never been easier for a college athlete, and while unfortunate, this is far from surprising.5
To make matters worse, it is speculated that University of Cincinnati athletic personnel knew of his gambling activity and took no preventative or remedial action.6 This raises a separate concern: is it foreseeable that universities will turn a blind eye to misconduct if the athlete is providing great benefit to the university? Should the university be punished for essentially sitting back while the student self-destructs?
As gambling continues to be promoted and grow in day-to-day life, I suspect that the Sorsby story will not be a one-off tale and instead will continue to be an unfortunate reoccurrence in college sports. For this reason alone, athletic and academic institutions need to pursue reform, whatever that ends up looking like.
1 2025 Sports Betting Advertising Trends, American Gambling Association (March 13, 2026).
2 https://www.ncaa.org/news/2025/11/21/media-center-di-schools-rescind-betting-rules-change-ban-on-pro-sports-betting-remains-in-place.aspx
3Cedric Golden, Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby’s gambling a cautionary tale. There may be more to come, The Statesman (April 30, 2026).
4 Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby enters gambling addiction program, Reuters (April 27, 2026).
5 Kirk Bohls, Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby enters gambling addiction program, Houston Chronicle (April 28, 2026).
6 Malik Smith, Cincinnati knew of star quarterback’s gambling problem in stunning reveal, NY Post (April 28, 2026).
Blake Breidenstein is a third year law student at the University at Buffalo School of Law who has spent much of his law school career studying how the law intertwines with the sports and entertainment industry. Throughout his time in law school, Breidenstein has supported the university's compliance office, working alongside a supervising attorney and staff in ensuring compliance with the ever-changing rules governing collegiate athletics. As a lifelong baseball player, Blake focuses much of his writing on the MLB, although his Buffalo roots occasionally turn his focus towards the Bills and Sabres.
Leave a Reply