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Nevada Schools Pass on Supporting Anti-Gambling Bill

"…The story supports a key argument against federal legislation that seeks to ban gambling on amateur sports in Nevada, the only state where it is currently legal. Take away that vigilance built into the gaming industry, opponents of the bill say, and the likelihood of game-fixing increases.

"`Our casinos are a window to the betting activity around the country,' said Bill Thompson, a UNLV public affairs professor. `We can tell when things are out of line. If the bet is over $10,000, the bettor has to register. When the Arizona State thing broke, our casinos sort of figured out who they were. It was that legal window that led to control of it.'

"That's why the NCAA's dogged support of the anti-gambling bill -- the Student Athlete Protection Act -- confuses some in Nevada. The state's economy is tied to tourism and gambling. Sports books might be a small part of that gambling, but it is still a healthy, legal and thriving industry.

"…The NCAA's take is that the legislation would discourage betting on college games. But Nevadans argue that most of that betting is illegal anyway. Nevada gives bettors a legal outlet.

"…Thompson came to Las Vegas 20 years ago, before the city was cleaned up. But it's probably helping the NCAA's case that the old-time perception of mobsters and game-fixing exists everywhere but Las Vegas.

"`We demand an honest game [Thompson said]. If someone said our blackjack wasn't honest, boom, we'd lose 30 percent of our revenue. If the game's not honest, there's no Las Vegas. We have a major stake in keeping the games honest. The bookies don't.'

"…The `win' or profit made by sports book gamblers is only $25-$30 million a year, according to one industry expert. That's only a drop in the bucket in the multibillion dollar industry. But it is the ancillary effects of an amateur sports gambling ban that could cripple Nevada: Fewer tourists, less hotel rooms filled, less restaurant traffic ...

"…If there is one thing Nevada and the NCAA agree on, it is that offshore Internet gambling is bad. For Nevada, offshore gambling is competition. For the NCAA, it represents the further evils of gambling. An Internet gambling bill is expected to pass in Washington.

"The bill aimed at Nevada has been much more contentious. The NCAA is concerned that amateur sports gambling will lead to more scandals. Opponents argue that legal college gambling represents only one percent of the industry in Nevada..."

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