<!--StartFragment --> 07:12 AM PDT on Thursday, August 4, 2005
By CHARLES E. BEGGS, Associated Press Writer
SALEM -- The state lottery's sports betting game would end in two years, removing an obstacle to attracting National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament games, under a House-passed bill approved Wednesday by the Senate Budget Committee.
Sports Action, the nation's only state-sponsored sports wagering game, allows gamblers to wager on National Football League contests.
The bill to end the game by July 2007 now goes to the full Senate.
The state's net Sports Action revenue, about $5 million in a two-year state budget, goes to intercollegiate athletic programs at state universities.
But supporters of the bill say the game's existence has kept the NCAA from bringing basketball tournament games to Oregon because of the organization's opposition to gambling. Oregon hasn't hosted an NCAA men's basketball tournament since 1983 -- six years before Sports Action was created.
Backers of doing away with Sports Action argue that the state's tourism economy would benefit from the NCAA tournament, bringing thousands of fans to Oregon and allowing millions more to see the state's scenery on television.
Drew Mahalic of the Oregon Sports Authority, which strives to bring sports events to the state, has said NCAA men's basketball tournament games could be scheduled here as soon as 2008 if the bill passes.
Sports Action contributes a tiny share of the lottery's overall revenue, which is expected to provide $900 million for schools and state programs in the 2005-07 budget. Most comes from video games.
To maintain the money for college sports, the bill would earmark 1 percent of Lottery proceeds for scholarships and athletic departments at state universities. That would give the schools about $4.5 million more than they now receive, sparking some protests.
"I object to using very precious Lottery funds this way when we're leaving academics in the dust," said Democratic Sen. Kurt Schrader of Canby, chairman of the budget panel.
The NCAA has said Oregon will be free to bid for tournaments if its state-sponsored football betting pool is ended.
By CHARLES E. BEGGS, Associated Press Writer
SALEM -- The state lottery's sports betting game would end in two years, removing an obstacle to attracting National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament games, under a House-passed bill approved Wednesday by the Senate Budget Committee.
Sports Action, the nation's only state-sponsored sports wagering game, allows gamblers to wager on National Football League contests.
The bill to end the game by July 2007 now goes to the full Senate.
The state's net Sports Action revenue, about $5 million in a two-year state budget, goes to intercollegiate athletic programs at state universities.
But supporters of the bill say the game's existence has kept the NCAA from bringing basketball tournament games to Oregon because of the organization's opposition to gambling. Oregon hasn't hosted an NCAA men's basketball tournament since 1983 -- six years before Sports Action was created.
Backers of doing away with Sports Action argue that the state's tourism economy would benefit from the NCAA tournament, bringing thousands of fans to Oregon and allowing millions more to see the state's scenery on television.
Drew Mahalic of the Oregon Sports Authority, which strives to bring sports events to the state, has said NCAA men's basketball tournament games could be scheduled here as soon as 2008 if the bill passes.
Sports Action contributes a tiny share of the lottery's overall revenue, which is expected to provide $900 million for schools and state programs in the 2005-07 budget. Most comes from video games.
To maintain the money for college sports, the bill would earmark 1 percent of Lottery proceeds for scholarships and athletic departments at state universities. That would give the schools about $4.5 million more than they now receive, sparking some protests.
"I object to using very precious Lottery funds this way when we're leaving academics in the dust," said Democratic Sen. Kurt Schrader of Canby, chairman of the budget panel.
The NCAA has said Oregon will be free to bid for tournaments if its state-sponsored football betting pool is ended.
