Florida Rep. Jimmy Patronis has asked the Atlantic Coast Conference to disclose its online sports betting rules for conference employees, officials and others tied to its competitions. The Republican tied the request to the ACC’s support for a federal college sports bill.
The request is a letter, not a subpoena or committee demand. The ACC’s response was not publicly available at the time of reporting.
Patronis emailed ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips and the conference’s board of directors on Thursday, according to Fox News. He asked for the conference’s online gambling policies covering staff, officials, and “other interested parties.” He also asked how the ACC protects competition integrity as betting expands.
“Seeing as the ACC is asking Congress for help with NIL, I believe we must have transparency regarding each body’s policies,” he wrote. He asked for a reply before Congress returns in November.
The letter had not been posted on his House website as of Thursday afternoon, RG reported. The ACC’s current employee betting policy has not been described in the reports reviewed.
The Protect College Sports Act, S. 4668, was authored by Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell. The Senate passed it 77-22 on September 28, according to the Senate Commerce Committee. It was received in the House on October 5 and is being held at the desk, per its Congress.gov record as reported by RG.
The bill would set national rules for name, image and likeness deals, agent registration, eligibility, transfers and revenue allocation. It would also cap agent fees at 5% and give the NCAA and conferences limited legal exemptions for certain rules.
Most ACC schools backed the initial version. Four did not, including Florida State and Miami, which objected to specific provisions.
The bill is mainly about NIL and athlete compensation, not betting, and the reports reviewed do not say it contains wagering provisions. Patronis’s letter links the two by asking for transparency from a conference seeking federal help.
The NCAA bans betting by athletes and staff on sports in which it sponsors a championship. In October 2025, its governing boards approved a change that would have allowed betting on professional sports.
On November 21, 2025, the NCAA announced that two-thirds of Division I schools had voted to rescind it, leaving the ban in place across all three divisions. An anonymous NCAA survey in 2024 found that 22% of male athletes and 5% of female athletes had wagered on sports despite the rules, according to media reports.
Conference-level policies are separate from NCAA rules, which is the gap the letter targets. NCAA President Charlie Baker has sought enforcement against violators and the removal of player prop bets..
The reports reviewed describe no formal consequence for missing the deadline and no committee action. The House is not scheduled to return until November.
The Senate-passed bill still needs House consideration. Whether the ACC replies and whether the House takes up S. 4668 will determine if the request leads to further scrutiny.
