NCAA gambling bill due in June

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, May 10, 2000 | 10:20 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., now plans to introduce a bill that would ban betting on college sports some time next month, officials say.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., on Tuesday cornered Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott on the Senate floor to ask him the status of the bill, Bryan said. Lott told Bryan that McCain would introduce the legislation, likely in early June, and probably as a free-standing bill, not as an amendment to another bill.

McCain's Commerce Committee spokeswoman Pia Pialorsi today said she could not confirm that.

"I don't know what form this (bill) will have on the Senate floor," she said. "It's in flux."

Bryan said McCain has pressured Lott, who acts as chief spokesman and strategist for the Republicans. McCain, a media favorite in the Senate following his bid for the presidency, has been tenacious on this issue, Bryan said.

"In one sense, a delay in a short session, such as this one, is helpful," Bryan said. Congress is scheduled to adjourn in early October, with six weeks of breaks this summer.

Bryan said the bill, which has garnered 20 co-sponsors in the Senate, could be more difficult to fight as a free-standing bill. Bryan said he was considering adding amendments to McCain's legislation.

Nevada's four-member delegation in Congress opposes the bill because it would hurt the state's casino sports books, which profit from wagers made on college sports bets, especially during the annual national college basketball tournament in March and April. The National Collegiate Athletic Association supports the bill.

McCain and other bill supporters say the legislation will help curb game-fixing by corrupt athletes who would profit from gambling. They say it would decrease gambling by college students on campus.

Nevada officials say the bill will not solve those problems.

McCain has been looking for an opportunity to introduce the bill on the Senate floor. His move to introduce it as an amendment to an education bill failed last week when Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., blocked it.

Reid was pleased McCain chose to back off the education bill in exchange for bringing his gambling ban legislation up later.

"That's fine," Reid said. "When the time comes, we will do what we have to do (to object)."