Important Dates For College Sports Betting Legislation
There is a long history throughout the world when it comes to betting on amateur sport. This is especially true when it comes to gambling in college sports in the United States, where there are millions of dollars placed in bets on the outcome of college basketball and football each year. Over the years, governmental bodies and collegiate sports organizations alike have tried to enact several measures that are intended to end the industry that revolves around gambling on amateur sports; many pieces of legislations, for example, have included betting on the Olympics and on high school sports along with a prohibition on gambling on college sports. Here are some of the most recent efforts by bodies to prevent further wagers being placed on amateur sporting events.
Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (1992): This bill was brought to pass by Congress in 1992. This bill was passed upon evidence that sports betting was a national problem that had urgent need of corrective legislation. Outside of Congress, the bill was supported by then NBA commissioner David Stern as well as the NCAA. In effect, the bill banned all gambling in college sports in 46 states. The states that escaped the legislation had prior agreements with the federal governments on the state of amateur gambling in their states, and these were Oregon, Montana, Delaware, and Montana. Of these four, only Nevada really retained the right to hold college books legally.
Student-Athlete Protection Act and the Amateur Sports Integrity Act 2002: In 2002, two different bills were proposed, one in the Senate by John McCain and one in Congress by Lindsay Graham. Both bills set about trying to close the loophole that allowed the four states mentioned above to retain their rights to hold legal gambling operations. In effect, the amendments would have closed betting on March Madness betting in college basketball, among other events. The bills were stringently opposed by members of the Las Vegas gambling lobby, who stood to lose so much money if the bills were passed that they would in effect have had to shut down (an estimated $700 million is grossed in sports betting each year, with over 10% coming during the March Madness tournament). The bills had widespread support from both sides, however they never made it onto the floor for a vote. Nevertheless, the gambling industry is still preparing for battle, as the big books and other Vegas operations prepare to go to court over the issue of State rights.
There are many organizations concerned that the rampant gambling in college sports found on campuses across the USA is undermining the mission of higher education to promote integrity within the sports world. The NCAA is also undertaking several missions to combat the occurrences of gambling on college sports.
