<TABLE class=contentpaneopen cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=contentheading width="100%">14-03-2005 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=contentpaneopen cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width="70%">http://www.bookmakersreview.com/News/Latest/14-03-2005_Rise_in_bets_is_troubling_to_NCAA/</TD><TD vAlign=top align=right></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>NCAA officials try to find ways to curb the rampant proliferation of wagering on an event that is surpassed only by the Super Bowl in the minds and pocketbooks of avid sports bettors.
Snipet from article above
The net effect
A plane ticket to Las Vegas often costs far less than an NCAA Tournament bet, but it's no longer necessary to travel to put money on sports.
Gamblers can bet from the comfort of their own homes on as many as 2,000 Internet sites. According to Christiansen Capital Advisors, which tracks Internet gambling, online sports betting will generate $3.7 billion in revenues in 2005, part of a $10 billion windfall that includes casino-style games and lotteries. In 2001, online sports betting was a $1.7 billion industry. Ten years ago, it barely existed.
Despite federal attempts to ban Internet gambling, the online industry still thrives. And sports betting, especially on the Super Bowl and March Madness, leads the way.
"It's the convenience," said Mark Balestra, vice president of publishing for the River City Group, an industry observer. "Serious sports bettors are not as likely to be interested in the entertainment that casinos offer. They just want the best price they can get."
Offshore sites operate largely out of the U.S. government's reach, but major American credit card companies have denied customers the use of their cards at Internet gambling sites. Instead, companies such as NetTeller draw money straight from bettors' bank accounts.
Online gambling might not be as simple as it was a few years ago, but it appears to be here to stay.
"The genie's out of the bag," said Calvin Ayre, CEO of bodog.com, one of the most popular online destinations for U.S. gamblers. "If they can't stop Las Vegas from taking bets on the NCAA, they're certainly not going to stop it internationally."
The last bet
Some bettors go too far, stumbling into the life-wrecking territory of compulsive gambling. A large number of them cross that line by betting on sports, including March Madness, said Arnie Wexler, a New Jersey-based counselor and former compulsive gambler himself.
Wexler believes the NCAA is too punitive and generally unconcerned with gambling unless it affects the organization's image.
"The NCAA could have done better stuff than waste their time and efforts and money running around in Congress to try to shut down gambling in Vegas," Wexler said. "If somebody has a gambling problem ... they think the answer is punishment."
Every March, Wexler said the calls to his hotline increase. That's true locally as well. A spokesperson for the hotline for the Fort Worth/Arlington Gamblers Anonymous group said call volume increases probably tenfold during March.
Many of the callers are college students. Wexler has spoken on several campuses, including Texas Tech, about the dangers of compulsive gambling.
"You can't believe how many kids are gambling," Wexler said. "They're gambling on everything: sports, cards, poker."
Handicapping the future
Nearly everyone involved agrees as long as the NCAA Tournament remains a marquee event, people will gamble on it, legally or illegally. With a $6 billion CBS television contract that guarantees huge exposure, and countless Web sites such as Yahoo! and CBS SportsLine offering online bracket games, the temptation is great.
"You know what to expect with the tournament," Balestra said. "It gets a little bit bigger every year."
And there's no sign that the madness will subside
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Snipet from article above
The net effect
A plane ticket to Las Vegas often costs far less than an NCAA Tournament bet, but it's no longer necessary to travel to put money on sports.
Gamblers can bet from the comfort of their own homes on as many as 2,000 Internet sites. According to Christiansen Capital Advisors, which tracks Internet gambling, online sports betting will generate $3.7 billion in revenues in 2005, part of a $10 billion windfall that includes casino-style games and lotteries. In 2001, online sports betting was a $1.7 billion industry. Ten years ago, it barely existed.
Despite federal attempts to ban Internet gambling, the online industry still thrives. And sports betting, especially on the Super Bowl and March Madness, leads the way.
"It's the convenience," said Mark Balestra, vice president of publishing for the River City Group, an industry observer. "Serious sports bettors are not as likely to be interested in the entertainment that casinos offer. They just want the best price they can get."
Offshore sites operate largely out of the U.S. government's reach, but major American credit card companies have denied customers the use of their cards at Internet gambling sites. Instead, companies such as NetTeller draw money straight from bettors' bank accounts.
Online gambling might not be as simple as it was a few years ago, but it appears to be here to stay.
"The genie's out of the bag," said Calvin Ayre, CEO of bodog.com, one of the most popular online destinations for U.S. gamblers. "If they can't stop Las Vegas from taking bets on the NCAA, they're certainly not going to stop it internationally."
The last bet
Some bettors go too far, stumbling into the life-wrecking territory of compulsive gambling. A large number of them cross that line by betting on sports, including March Madness, said Arnie Wexler, a New Jersey-based counselor and former compulsive gambler himself.
Wexler believes the NCAA is too punitive and generally unconcerned with gambling unless it affects the organization's image.
"The NCAA could have done better stuff than waste their time and efforts and money running around in Congress to try to shut down gambling in Vegas," Wexler said. "If somebody has a gambling problem ... they think the answer is punishment."
Every March, Wexler said the calls to his hotline increase. That's true locally as well. A spokesperson for the hotline for the Fort Worth/Arlington Gamblers Anonymous group said call volume increases probably tenfold during March.
Many of the callers are college students. Wexler has spoken on several campuses, including Texas Tech, about the dangers of compulsive gambling.
"You can't believe how many kids are gambling," Wexler said. "They're gambling on everything: sports, cards, poker."
Handicapping the future
Nearly everyone involved agrees as long as the NCAA Tournament remains a marquee event, people will gamble on it, legally or illegally. With a $6 billion CBS television contract that guarantees huge exposure, and countless Web sites such as Yahoo! and CBS SportsLine offering online bracket games, the temptation is great.
"You know what to expect with the tournament," Balestra said. "It gets a little bit bigger every year."
And there's no sign that the madness will subside
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
