College betting ban bill unveiled: Nevada lawmakers rip into legislation

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, March 21, 2001 | 11:17 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Vowing to protect student athletes from Nevada's "dangerous influence of high-stakes betting," two House lawmakers fired a shot at the gaming industry and Nevada lawmakers Tuesday.

As expected, Reps. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Tim Roemer, D-Ind., officially introduced the Student Athlete Protection Act, which would ban betting on college sports in Nevada.

The move deliberately fell during the middle of the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, when casinos and sports books are raking in millions of dollars on sports wagers.

"The March Madness of the NCAA basketball tournaments provides an appropriate occasion for the Congress to build on the momentum of last year," Roemer, a Notre Dame alumnus, said in a press release. Roemer and Graham introduced the legislation last year, but it stalled in Congress.

Nevada lawmakers continued to slam the bill.

"Stamping out legal wagering in Nevada as a way of stamping out illegal betting on college sports is as preposterous as suggesting that outlawing aspirin in Nevada would stop the sale of illegal drugs in America," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said in a written statement.

"The NCAA proposal would not only throw hundreds of Nevadans out of work, it would exacerbate the problem of illegal sports betting, as determined bettors turn to back alleys and illegal interests."

Last year Roemer and Graham unveiled the bill at a crowded press conference on Capitol Hill, using the glare of media attention on the popular hoops tournament to help their legislation.

But this year they quietly introduced it without ceremony.

Graham and Roemer are planning a public event with supportive high-profile college coaches and presidents to drum up support and publicity for the bill, but probably not before the end of the tournament on April 2, aides said.

Meanwhile, the bill will be sent to the House Judiciary Committee for a hearing.

A similar Senate bill, to be introduced by Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and John McCain, R-Ariz., is expected in the "coming weeks," aides said.

Brownback is planning a trip to Minneapolis for the tournament finale to seek publicity for the legislation.

The NCAA-backed bill has two other House sponsors who are emerging vocal proponents of the legislation: former University of Nebraska football coach and newly elected House member Tom Osborne, R-Neb., and Ron Kind, D-Wis.

"As a coach, most of the ugliest incidents I remember occurred when someone had lost a bet," Osborne said in a written statement.

"As a coach, you have to win twice. You have to win the game, and then you have to beat the point spread. To some people, if you haven't done both, you haven't truly won. It creates and unhealthy climate."

Nevada is the only state that allows legal gambling on college sports. Bill advocates hope the legislation will curb widespread gambling on college campuses and close a loophole that allows "campus bookies" to thrive and even fix games.

"High school, college and Olympic sports represent the best ideals of camaraderie, team work and individual achievement," said Kind, a 38-year-old Harvard University graduate from LaCrosse. "Allowing Las Vegas-style betting on these sports diminishes these ideals and the hard work of the athletes."

Nevada lawmakers and gambling industry officials strongly oppose the bill, which would hurt casino profits. They vow to fight the NCAA-backed legislation in committee hearings and during House and Senate debate.

The four-member Silver State delegation is aggressively pushing its own gambling bill as an alternative.

That legislation would study gambling on college campuses, make punishments more severe for illegal gamblers and require federally funded universities to launch more anti-gambling campaigns.

About 40 House and Senate members -- mostly House Democrats -- have signed the bill, including Osborne. Osborne supports both bills, saying he wants to go after illegal gamblers as well as close the Las Vegas "loophole" that allows legal betting.

"The bills differ greatly," Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said. "Intellectually, our bill goes to the heart and substance of what the NCAA is trying to accomplish with the terribly misguided Graham-Roemer bill. Our bill goes after the illegal gambling, which is the 900-pound gorilla in all this."

But the NCAA-backed bill is still said to have widespread support in the House and Senate.

"We have the track record on this," Roemer spokesman Chris Mehl said. "I'd rather be in our shoes than theirs."