NCAA Gets Ontario Casino To Suspend Betting During Final Four

NCAA Gets Caesars Windsor To Suspend Basketball Betting During Men's Final Four

The NCAA has "persuaded the Ontario government to suspend betting" on men's college basketball at Caesars Windsor from March 30-April 6 while Detroit hosts the Final Four at Ford Field, according to Mary Francis Masson of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Casinos in Michigan, and in "almost all states, cannot offer sports wagers." NCAA Associate Dir of Public & Media Relations Stacey Osburn said, "Sports books are only located in a few, select cities, and given the closer proximity this year, the request of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. was a proactive move to ensure a Final Four environment that is free of college sports wagering." But Masson noted the National Association of Basketball Coaches has "rented several hundred rooms at Caesars Windsor for coaches, exhibitors and sponsors," while the coaches' wives are "expected to host a fund-raising event there as well." Meanwhile, Fine Point Group Managing Dir Randall Fine said that he is "not surprised that the NCAA asked for the suspension or that the casino agreed." Fine: "The request was a reasonable one." Fine said that because Caesars Windsor is managed by Harrah's Entertainment, it has "other reasons to be cooperative." Harrah's HQs are in Las Vegas, where "many businesspeople would like to get an NBA team but have run into antigambling arguments." Fine said gaming companies are "going to great lengths to be cooperative in hopes that a pro team comes to Las Vegas" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 2/28).