Betting on college sports

With March Madness in college basketball in full swing, brackets have been passed around offices and between friends and families, filled out and games have been closely watched. To many, this is all a part of the fun that comes along with this time of year. Betting on sports may seem like all fun and games, but it is illegal.

In “Betting threat,” posted on Yahoo! Sports, Josh Peter discusses a study, “Gambling With Their Lives: College students and Sports Gambling,” conducted by Tim Otteman.

According to the article, the study found that student gamblers and bookmakers received inside information from student-athletes or someone who was associated with the teams involved, student betting progressed from just filling out brackets to more serious betting with bookmakers and online wagering, students conducted their gambling on campus even using equipment belonging to the school and “sports gambling is a behavior easily hidden” which part of the reason is because it is socially accepted.

Betting on college sports is a bigger problem than people would think, Otteman said in an e-mail interview.

“$2 billion is legally bet in Nevada, the only state where sports betting is legal. The National Gambling Impact Study of 1999 estimated that $80-$380 billion is illegally wagered annually in the United States,” Otteman said.

Betting on collegiate sports does have some financial benefits, according to Peter.

Peter said in an e-mail interview betting helps, in a sense, by increasing TV ratings.

“And by positive, I refer to increased revenue produced by higher television ratings,” Peter said. “It's a big positive for those who benefit from the increased revenue, and those stakeholders include coaches, administrators and, indirectly, the players. The more money made, the better resources – private travel, tutors and training tables -- available to the athletes.”

On the other hand, there are some real reasons to opt out because of the strong negatives that come with the rush, social interaction and use of sports knowledge, Otteman said.

“The downside of betting on sports is similar to other forms of gambling - financial losses, neglecting work, school, friends and family, and involvement with other illegal activity due to debt. It is important to remember that gambling is an addictive behavior,” Otteman said.

The NCAA bylaw 10.3, which can be found online and in Peter’s posting, states “staff members of the athletics department of a member institution and student-athletes shall not knowingly: a. Provide information to individuals involved in organized gambling activities concerning intercollegiate athletics competition, b. Solicit a bet on any intercollegiate team, c. Accept a bet on any team representing the institution; or d. Participate in any gambling activity that involves intercollegiate athletics or professional athletics, through a bookmaker, a parlay card or any other method employed by organized gambling."

Betting may seem like an easy and fun way to spend and hopefully make money, but it offers plenty of threats to those who place the bet and the athletes that may become involved. There is no real difference between betting on collegiate and professional sports.

Peter said there is not necessarily a difference in betting on them, but there is a difference if athletes were to get involved.

“But I think college athletes are more susceptible to a game-fixing scheme or providing inside information for money because their scholarships include little outside of room and board. They're more likely to be looking for spending money, whereas professional athletes would be foolish to risk their enormous incomes by getting involved in similar schemes, and I suspect that few do,” Peter said.

The pools many participate in at home and work may even be the biggest threat, Otteman said.

“It is these type of activities that could start the slippery slope toward major problems with an addictive behavior. Because these activities are socially acceptable and can be participated in without a large amount of sports knowledge, the rush or excitement of the wager and the chance to win large amounts of money with a small bet may be the "nudge" to more involved sports gambling. They are also the activities that may be "modeled" by children and young adults,” Otteman said.

Before placing a bet, people should realize what the repercussions are. Some of these consequences are easily seen while others develop over time. Save your cash by not placing a bet, and spend it on a ticket to the game.

To view NCAA bylaw 10.3 follow this link: http://www.ncaa.org/library/membership/division_i_manual/2007-08/2007-08_d1_manual.pdf.

The link to Peter’s article is: http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/news?slug=jo-gambling031808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns.
Otteman’s study and Web site information can also be found at this link.