Thursday, May 08, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLLEGE SPORTS WAGERING: McCain brings back bet ban bill

Nevada senator confident measure will meet defeat

John McCain Arizona senator brings back bill to ban college sports wagering

WASHINGTON -- Almost two years to the day after a Senate panel conducted the last big fight on the issue, Sen. John McCain resurrected a bill that would prohibit Nevada sports books from taking bets on college games and other amateur sporting events.

The Arizona Republican reintroduced the bill late Tuesday, saying a ban would send a clear message that betting on amateur athletics is wrong.

"Congress must take action to close the loophole in current law that allows just a handful of states to serve as national clearinghouses for betting on our youth," McCain said in a statement.

McCain was referring to a 1992 law that banned sports betting in all states except Nevada, Delaware, Montana and Oregon. Nevada is the only state where sports books accept wagers on college games.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said he is confident McCain's bill will be defeated in committee "if he actually brings it up."

McCain is the committee's chairman but he could choose to bypass the panel and seek a vote directly on the Senate floor.

On May 4, 2001, the commerce committee voted 10-10 on an amendment by Ensign that would have gutted McCain's bill. The deadlock effectively derailed the sports betting ban, which was once considered almost a certainty for passage.

"I'm never 100 percent sure, but I'm fairly sure we would have more votes this time in committee," said Ensign.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who worked closely with Ensign to stop McCain's bill two years ago, said the betting ban is misguided and he will continue to fight it.

"It will not do anything to stop the 98 percent of illegal wagering that happens," Reid said in a statement.

Although Reid described opposition to the sports betting ban as "an uphill battle," the Nevada congressional delegation is not planning on offering alternative legislation as it did two years ago.

"We plan to beat (McCain) in committee," Ensign said.

Meanwhile, a similar bill unveiled during the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament in March by Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., awaits action in the House. Osborne's bill has 35 co-sponsors.

Brett Hale, vice president of governmental affairs for the American Gaming Association, said it was only a matter of time before McCain reintroduced the sports betting ban.

"We are going to work with the Nevada delegation to make sure we do everything we can to stop this bill," Hale said.