The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science &
Transportation (CCST) yesterday approved a bill by voice
vote that would make it illegal to gamble on college, high
school and Olympic sports, according to Mark Asher of the
WASHINGTON POST. U.S. Senator & Committee Chair John McCain
(R-AZ), who also sponsored the bill, said that he is "not
interested at this time in overtures he received this week"
from the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB to incorporate a ban on
betting on pro sports into the bill. McCain's bill now goes
to the full Senate, where Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS)
said that "he is unsure when it will be scheduled for
debate." Lott said he does not have a timetable to bring
the bill to the full Senate, which is "pretty well booked."
Asher adds that a "similar" bill in the U.S. House of
Representatives sponsored by Reps. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and
Tim Romer (D-IN) "has been referred" to the House Judiciary
Committee. Two proposed amendments to the bill by U.S.
Senator Richard Bryan (D-NV) have already passed. One
amendment would "require" colleges to develop enforcement
policies on illegal gambling and report information to the
Justice Department. The other amendment would "ban" NCAA
corporate sponsors from using a sports sweepstakes in which
prizes are offered (WASHINGTON POST, 4/14). In Las Vegas,
Tony Batt writes that legal betting on college sports "moved
one step closer to extinction" with the vote. Due to "swift
action" on the legislation by the committee, the measure is
"expected to pass" a vote by the full Senate. Meanwhile, a
hearing on the bill before the House "could take place in
May," though "prospects" for the bill reaching final passage
in Congress this year "remain uncertain." Also, MLB "has
become associated with calls to ban" legalized gambling on
pro sports and amateur athletics. MLB reps met this week
with congressional officials (L.V. REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/14).
NOT A FAN OF PLAN: A L.V. REVIEW JOURNAL editorial
criticizes the NBA and NFL for lobbying to ban legalized
gambling in the NV: "If the NBA and the NFL are worried
about the influence organized crime has on their players
now, just wait until the mob has total control of sports
wagering. ... The small amount of legal sports wagering that
goes on in Nevada does nothing to impugn the integrity of
the nation's sporting contests" (L.V. REVIEW-JOURNAL, 4/14).
