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On
behalf of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), I am pleased to
have this opportunity to provide the committee with the NCAA’s perspectives on
the impact of sports wagering on college athletics, students and
student-athletes.
The
NCAA is a tax-exempt, unincorporated association of approximately 1,260
colleges, universities, athletics conferences and related organizations devoted
to the regulation and promotion of intercollegiate athletics for male and female
student-athletes. Like many other
sports organizations, the NCAA has a clear, direct policy regarding sports
wagering. The NCAA prohibits
participation in any form of legal or illegal sports wagering because of its
potential to undermine the integrity of sports contests and jeopardize the
welfare of the student-athlete and the intercollegiate athletics community.
The NCAA membership has adopted specific legislation prohibiting
athletics department staff members, conference office staff and student-athletes
from engaging in sports wagering activities as they relate to intercollegiate or
professional sporting events. These
same rules apply to NCAA national office staff.
Impact
on the Integrity of the Sports Contest
As
a sports organization, the NCAA is well aware of the direct threat sports
wagering poses to the integrity of each intercollegiate contest.
In the early 1950s, the academic community and the public were shocked to
learn that the City College of New York men’s basketball team was involved in
a point-shaving scandal. We are all
aware of recent point-shaving scandals on the campuses of Arizona State
University and Northwestern University. The
magnitude of these and similar incidents should not be underestimated.
According to federal law enforcement officials, more money was wagered in
the Arizona State case than on any point-shaving scam in the history of
intercollegiate athletics. It is
important to note that over $1 million was wagered legally in Nevada casinos in
the Arizona State case. Likewise,
in the Northwestern case, wagers were placed legally in Nevada casinos.
Both
legal and illegal sports wagering have been at the heart of nearly every major
collegiate sports wagering scandal. However,
the presence of any type of sports wagering, whether it be legal or illegal, is
a potential threat to the integrity of our contests. We believe that eliminating
sports wagering will provide important positive benefits for intercollegiate
athletics. Nevada casinos have been
helpful in monitoring unusual shifts in wagering on college games, but this
alone does not ensure protection from point-shaving scandals.
In fact, some point-shaving scandals have used Las Vegas sports books
without being detected. A blanket
prohibition on collegiate sports wagering will significantly reduce the outlets
available for placing wagers and, in doing so, will undoubtedly have an impact
on the number of individuals betting on the games. The
NCAA also supports legislation to clarify the ban on Internet gambling.
The proliferation of Internet gambling is fueling the growth of illegal
sports gambling on college campuses across the country.
In 1992, Congress enacted the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection
Act to prohibit the spread of state-sponsored sports gambling.
The intent of Congress in enacting this statute is being undermined by
the growth of Internet gambling. Federal
legislation would make it clear that Internet technology cannot be used to
circumvent existing laws, which prohibit sports gambling.
The
influence of sports wagering is far reaching, and sports organizations
continually live in fear that sports wagering will infiltrate and undermine the
contest itself.
Impact
on Student-Athletes
As
director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities, and a former campus
administrator and coach, I am acutely aware of the impact sports wagering can
have on the lives of college student-athletes.
I have witnessed students, their families and institutions publicly
humiliated. I have seen students
expelled from college, lose athletics scholarships worth thousands of dollars
and jeopardize any hope of a professional career in athletics.
In most cases, the scenario is strikingly familiar.
Student-athletes who have begun wagering on sports incur losses beyond
their means to repay and, as a result, become vulnerable to point-shaving
schemes. Sometimes they participate
in such activities voluntarily in a desperate attempt to erase their outstanding
debt; other times, they are compelled by the threat of personal injury.
In the latter cases, organized crime is often involved, and there are
cases where student bookmaking operations can be traced back to organized crime.
The
profile of the typical college student who gambles is someone who believes
he/she can control his/her own destiny, is willing to take risks and believes
that he/she possesses the skill to be successful in this endeavor.
In other contexts, these are considered positive character traits.
This profile is representative of many college athletes and may, in part,
explain why some student-athletes are drawn to sports wagering.
NCAA
investigations have revealed that there is a high incidence of wagering among
college students. It is believed
that student bookies are present at every institution.
The advent of Internet wagering, which now enables college students to
place wagers over the Internet from their dorm rooms, raises even greater cause
for concern. There is certainly no
dispute that the impact of sports wagering is being felt on college campuses
across the country.
National
Gambling Impact Study Commission Recommends Ban on College Sports
On
June 18, 1999, the federally appointed National Gambling Impact Study Commission
convened by Congress to examine the effects of sports wagering on American
society, issued its final report after a two-year comprehensive study of all
forms of legal gambling activity.
The
commission’s report included a recommendation urging a ban on all currently
legal sports wagering on college and amateur sporting events.
In making this recommendation, the commission said, “Sports wagering
threatens the integrity of sports, it puts student-athletes in a vulnerable
position, it can serve as a gateway behavior for adolescent gamblers, and it can
devastate individuals and careers.
Placing
legal wagers on games played by young people should not be permitted.
The existence of any type of gambling, illegal or legal, on sporting
events is a direct threat to the integrity of the contest.
Participants in college sporting events are even more susceptible (than
professional athletes) to outside influences who may attempt to exert pressures
on them to “fix” the outcome of a contest.
The development of new gambling technologies, such as programs designed
to allow casino bettors to wager on each individual play in a game, will
undoubtedly increase the likelihood that college student-athletes will be
pressured and enticed into schemes where they participate in influencing the
outcome of a given college sporting contest.
We must remember that these are young people; betting on their
performance is unseemly and inappropriate.
Legal
College Sports Wagering Operations Provide Avenue for Illegal Sports Wagering
Money Laundering.
The
legally and illegally wagered dollars on college sporting events are thought to
be in the billions. Complicating
the matter is the money laundering of illegal sports book dollars through legal
sports books. Steve DuCharme,
former chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, is quoted in a February 1999
Sports Business Journal article as saying:
“We’ve
taken steps to crack down on the amount of illegal money being laundered through
legitimate sports books. We really
have no way of knowing [how much is laundered through the legal sports books].
Based on transcriptions of wiretaps, it is millions of dollars.”
These
are clearly federal law enforcement issues, meriting a federal solution.
Discontinuation
of College Sports Wagering Would not Result in a Serious Threat to the Nevada
Economy.
Fears
that federal legislation prohibiting sports wagering in Nevada will be a
“serious threat” to the Nevada economy are not supported by the facts.
In 2000, approximately $2.3 billion was wagered in Nevada sports books.
Casinos retained $124 million, approximately 5.33 percent of the total
amount wagered on sports. According
to Mr. DuCharme, the amount kept by casinos on sports wagering is “very
small” compared to other casino games. Furthermore,
the amount wagered on college sports is only a little more than one-third of the
total. In an industry driven by
billions of dollars (2000 total casino revenues were $9.6 billion), the
elimination of collegiate sports wagering will have little impact on state
revenues or on the casinos’ bottom line.
The amount bet on college sports is reportedly only four-tenths of one
percent of overall casino revenues.
The
existence of legal sports wagering in Nevada is actually limiting the growth of
the Nevada economy in some regards. Most
amateur and professional sports leagues have policies against franchise location
and events staged in Nevada because of the presence of sports wagering.
College
Sports Wagering Serves as a Gateway for Youth to Addictive Gambling Behavior –
Youth Gambling Problem is a Concern.
We
are concerned that legal collegiate sports wagering fuels a much larger illegal
collegiate sports wagering trade, impacting America’s youth at an alarming
rate. Sports wagering is a serious
problem among teenagers under the age of 18.
A 1999 Gallup Poll reports that teenagers say they start betting on
college sports at age 10 and bet on college sports at twice the rate of adults.
Called “the addiction of the 90s” by the American Academy of
Pediatrics, its research indicates that there are over one million United States
teens who are addicted to gambling. A
recent Harvard School of Medicine report estimates that six percent of teenagers
under 18 have serious gambling problems. In
a June report of the 1999 Gallup Poll, 18 percent of teenage respondents said
they had bet on college sports, contrasted with nine percent of adults who
wagered on college games. The
National Gambling Impact Study Commission report calls sports wagering “a
gateway behavior for adolescent gamblers.”
Prohibiting college sports wagering everywhere in the United States would
send a clear signal that the activity is illegal.
In addition, a federal prohibition would put an end to the mixed message
to our young people, limit exposure and reduce the numbers of people who are
introduced to sports wagering.
NCAA
Takes Concrete Steps to Address College Sports Wagering – Adopts No-Nonsense
Policies and Education Outreach Programs.
The
NCAA has taken significant steps to address the very real problems associated
with wagering on college sports. The
NCAA has established policies that prohibit all sports wagering by campus
athletics personnel, student-athletes and NCAA employees. Student-athletes are not eligible to compete if they
knowingly provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling
activities concerning intercollegiate athletics competition; solicit a bet on
any intercollegiate team; accept a bet on any intercollegiate team; accept a bet
on any team representing the institution or participate in any gambling activity
that involves intercollegiate athletics through a bookmaker, parlay card or any
other method employed by organized gambling.
Similar expectations apply to coaches, directors of athletics and NCAA
employees. The NCAA has instituted
background checks on men’s and women’s basketball game officials.
This was done to ensure that the game officials have not been involved in
sports wagering issues. In
addition, the NCAA sponsors the following:
educational programs that provide assistance to campus administrators to
conduct sports wagering workshops, broadcasts of anti-sports wagering public
service announcements during the championship games aired by CBS and ESPN,
production of a booklet in partnership with the National Endowment for Financial
Education entitled “Don’t Bet On It,” which educates students about the
dangers of sports wagering and acquaints them with good financial management
strategies. We also are currently
working to develop research in the area of youth gambling and campus gambling.
The
NCAA and its Membership are Committed to Improving the Student-Athlete
Experience
Opponents
of an effort to prohibit gambling on college sports in all states criticize the
NCAA for reaping profits from college sports while not investing more in
gambling prevention programs. As
previously mentioned, the NCAA supports a number of programs that address the
sports wagering issue. In addition,
a portion of the NCAA’s revenues fund programs such as the student-athlete
assistance fund, graduate assistance fellowships, life skills education, clinics
for disadvantaged youth, and many other programs designed to support and enrich
the college experience for student-athletes.
The NCAA’s 84 championship events for men and women at the Divisions I,
II and III levels are funded through the television rights revenues.
However, the vast majority of NCAA revenues are returned to NCAA
Divisions I, II and III member colleges and universities to help support their
athletics programs. It costs $3.4
billion every year for our member schools to provide the more than 335,000
student-athletes with an opportunity to play college sports.
The NCAA and its member institutions continue to examine ways to provide
student-athletes with more support and enrichment opportunities, including
gambling-related education, research and outreach activities.
Conclusion
Legalized
amateur sports wagering in Nevada continues to blunt efforts of the NCAA and
higher education to combat college sports wagering.
The insidious effect of legalized wagering on college sports has crept
far beyond the Nevada state line. Even
though sports wagering is illegal in nearly every state, point spreads on
college games are published in newspapers across the country, bookies are common
fixtures on college campuses and new technologies allow bets on college games to
be placed over the Internet or in a casino in innovative ways.
The dollars involved are big and escalating every year.
By clearly making gambling on college sports illegal everywhere all the
time, we will strengthen our efforts to maintain the integrity of college
sports.
This
nation’s college and university system is one of our greatest assets. We offer the world the model for postsecondary education.
Betting on the outcome of college sporting events tarnishes the integrity
of sport and diminishes the esteem in which we and the rest of the world hold
United States colleges and universities. While
we recognize that a ban on collegiate sports wagering will not eliminate all
gambling on college sports, it is a significant start.
Our goal is to protect student-athletes and remove the unseemly
influences of sports wagering on our amateur athletes and the games they play.
We look forward to working with you to close the gap that has not only
allowed legal betting on college sports to continue but also fuels illegal
betting on college games.
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