Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

McCain expects scandal to spark anti-betting bill

Arizona senator awaits chance to revive legislation banning bets on college sports

"Until there's a scandal, we won't pass it. The gambling interests are too powerful. But there will be another scandal." SEN. JOHN MCCAIN R-ARIZ.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Tuesday he does not know if he will revive a bill to prevent Nevada sports books from taking bets on college basketball and football games.

"Until there's a scandal, we won't pass it," McCain said. "The gambling interests are too powerful. But there will be another scandal."

If McCain chooses not to reintroduce the bill, it will be the first time in six years the Senate has not considered outlawing college sports betting at Nevada casinos. McCain first introduced the legislation in 2000.

In the House, Rep. Tom Osborne, R-Neb., former football coach at the University of Nebraska, plans to try again with a betting ban similar to McCain's, according to spokeswoman Erin Hegge.

Supporters of the betting ban say it is needed to discourage gambling on amateur athletes. But the legislation has been bottled up primarily by opposition from Nevada's senators, who say the real problem is sports betting that is not regulated.

Making McCain's task more difficult is that he is no longer chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, the panel that would vote on a proposed betting ban.

Not only is McCain no longer chairman, but Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is. The relationship between McCain and Stevens is reportedly strained because McCain criticized the Alaskan for pork barrel spending during his term as chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

Stevens was asked about the sports gambling issue on Tuesday but declined to comment.

"Let me tell you, I do not talk about my committee in the hall," he said.

But Stevens spokeswoman Melanie Alvord said he would schedule a hearing on a sports betting bill if one is introduced.

Nevada sports books accept wagers of more than $2 billion annually. About 30 percent of those bets are placed on college games.

"The Super Bowl is our biggest single event, but the first four days of the NCAA men's basketball tournament are a close second," said Bob Scucci, race and sports book manager at the Stardust.

On May 3, 2001, the Senate Commerce Committee deadlocked 10-10 on an amendment by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., that would have gutted McCain's bill.

The tie defeated Ensign's amendment, and the panel went on to pass McCain's bill by voice vote. But the 10-10 stalemate on Ensign's amendment slowed momentum for McCain's bill, and a vote on the Senate floor never occurred.

On Tuesday, Ensign said he is confident that Stevens would not support McCain's bill.

"He certainly was on our side last time, and we think he would be on our side again," Ensign said.

Stevens did not vote on the Ensign amendment in 2001. But after that vote, Alvord said Stevens opposed the McCain bill "because (Stevens) believes this is a policy states should determine."

Ensign said he does not see a college sports betting ban passing Congress in the foreseeable future.

Another problem for McCain is the opposition of Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the new Democratic leader.

McCain's bill drew only three co-sponsors in the last Congress, and was not scheduled for a hearing by the Senate Commerce Committee. Osborne's bill also did not come up for a committee hearing.