College Sports Gambling

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College Sports Gambling

With all of the controversy of gambling in college sports, why is the issue

still an issue? The answer is money. There were actions taken towards this by

Congress, but the problem is that it was never completely abolished. Congress

had made the mistake of creating a way around it. It is now commonly referred

to as “the Las Vegas loophole.” They outlawed the betting nationwide with the

exception of one state, one state that is the capital of gambling, Nevada. This

has caused few changes, with the exception of the ever-growing revenue that it

generates. Another reason the legality still remains is one not frequently

mentioned, but the question of the ban being constitutional. But no matter what

the law, is there realistically ever going to be silence or content?

To trace the tracks to the start of mending this problem, we need to go

back to 1992. This is the year that the Professional and Amateur Sports

Protection Act took precedence. This law restricts gambling on amateur sports

in 46 states and essentially leaves Nevada as the only state that can take bets

on those games. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) and Rep. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.)

are striving to get two separate bills passed, both of which are targeted at

prohibiting gambling on amateur sports. The bills were introduced a year ago,

and at the time, were heavily favored. The bills would legally put a stop to

betting on NCAA games, the oh-so-notorious March Madness (the NCAA

Tournament), and wagering on all college sports for that matter. Las Vegas

casino lobbyist have turned offensive. Who wouldn’t, if there were possibilities

of losing a $700 million cash cow, with approximately $70 million on March

Madness?

The money that is generated from sports betting both legal and not, is

much too vast to be eradicated. Nevada is the tree trunk for which sports

gambling is derived. The casinos are complete with giant electronic boards that

offer information on daily events ranging from odds to player injuries. This is the

basis of most sports wagering. Nevada generates $2.3 billion a year on legal

sports betting , where as, betting on college sports revenue in Nevada accounts

for $650 million of the amount. This is far from the issue though. If betting on

college sports in Nevada is made illegal, I find the impact to be very small

considerin...

... middle of paper ...

... and James B. Steele, “Throwing the Game,” Time,

(September 25, 2000)

Gillespie, Mark, “Americans Split on Whether Gambling on College Sports

Should Be Banned,” The Gallup Organization,

<http://www.gallop.com/poll/releases/pr020401.asp>(April 1, 2002)

Isenberg, Marc, “Gambling on College Sports: The NCAA’s Solution is Part

of the Problem,” National Association of Basketball Coaches, Official Athletic

Cite,

<http://nabc.fansonly.com/nabc_programs/nabc_programs-gambling-awaren

ess.html>(April 25, 2002)

Jansen, Bart, “Big name coaches support ban on amateur sports gambling,”

The Detroit News,

<http://detnews.com/2000/college/0006/15/sports-74856.htm>(April 25, 2002)

Pells, Eddie, “Complaint: Dupay received money for sharing info,” Slam!

Basketball,

<http://www.conoe.ca/Slam010914/bkc_dupay-ap.html>(September 14,

2001)

Rovell, Darren, “Congree could trump Vegas on college book,” ESPN,

<http://espn.go.com/ncaa/s/2001/0312/1150957.html>(March 15, 2002)

Sauve, Valerie, “Issues Committee holds discussion on illegal sports wagering in

NCAA,” The Daily Beacon, <http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/article.php/5561>(March

5, 2002)

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