Testimony of Bill Saum (3/23/99)

Mr. Chairman and the members of the subcommittee. I am pleased to appear before you today to express the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) support for The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999, introduced by Senator Kyl.

The NCAA is a nonprofit association of approximately 1,150 colleges, universities, athletics conferences and related organizations devoted to the regulation and promotion of intercollegiate athletics for over 300,000 student-athletes. As NCAA's director of gambling and agent activities, I am responsible for coordinating a comprehensive program addressing gambling issues. My duties reange from developing educational materials for NCAA members and student-athletes on sports gambling topics to conducting investigations related to violations of NCAA rules in this area.

The NCAA opposes all forms of sports gambling because of its potential to undermine the integrity of sports contests while jeopardizing the welfare of the student-athlete and the inter collegiate athletics community. Despite federal and state laws that prohibit sports gambling in 47 states, this activity remains a growing problem on college campuses. I have witnessed, firsthand, the negative impact that sports gambling has on the lives of college student-athletes. Within the last year, the public has learned of point shaving scandals on the campuses of Arizona State University and Northwestern University. The impact of these case must not be minimized. Several of the student-athletes involved were indicted and sentenced to serve time in federal prisons. Coaches and teammates were betrayed and the two schools involved have seen their excellent reputations tarnished. It is clear that sports gambling is not a victimless crime.

While there are no comprehensive studies available that analyze the prevalence of sports gambling or gambling in general on college campuses, the preliminary evidence reveals an alarming trend. A 1998 study conducted by the University of Michigan surveyed 3,000 NCAA male and female student-athletes. The research revealed that 35 percent of student-athletes gambled on sports while attending college. Over 5 percent of male student-athletes wagered on a game in which they participated, provided inside information for gambling purposes, or accepted money for performing poorly in a contest. Furthermore, according to Dr. Howard Shaffer, director of Harvard University Medical School's Division on Addiction, research shows that more youth are introduced to gambling through sports betting than through any other type of gambling activity.

The high incidence of gambling on college campuses is not just limited to student-athletes, it extends to the general student body. A growing consensus of research reveals that the rates of pathological and problem gambling among college students are higher than any other segment of the populations.

As you can see, there is reason to be concerned about the impact of gambling on today's youth. It should not surprise anyone that the growth of Internet gambling provides college students with the opportunity to place wagers on professional and college sporting events from the privacy of their campus residence. Internet gambling offers students virtual anonymity. With nothing more than a credit card, the possibility exists for any student-athlete to place a wager via the Internet and then attempt to influence the outcome of the contest while participating on the court or playing field.

But the very real potential for point shaving incidents is not the only troubling aspect of Internet gambling. If left unchecked, the growth of Internet gambling may be fueled further by college students. After all, who else has greater access to the Internet? Many college students have unlimited use of the Internet and most residence halls are wired for Internet access. Furthermore, college students now have the means to place wagers over the Internet. College campuses are being deluged with representatives from credit card companies offering free gifts to students in return for filling out credit card applications. A recent Nellie May survey revealed that 65 percent of undergraduate students have credit cards, 20 percent have four or more cards

Another concern for the NCAA and college administrators is that despite confusion among students regarding the legality of Internet gambling, nearly every state has laws that prohibit sports gambling. In my position with the NCAA, I continue to receive questions from students and administrators who receive unsolicited e-mails from Internet sports book sites. This practice has become so troublesome that legislation has been recently introduced in the Pennsylvania legislature aimed at protecting youth from the onslaught of unsolicited gambling advertisement via the Internet. My message to student-athletes who receive these e-mails is simple: Not only would your participation in this activity result in a serious NCAA rules violation, but you would likely be furthering the commission of a state crime. It is especially difficult for students to understand that not everything found on the Internet is legal.

The best way of addressing Internet gambling in this country is for Congress to pass federal legislation providing for a blanket prohibition of this activity in the United States. Senator Kyl's bill adopts this approach. Wile 18 off-shore Internet gambling operators were recently charged with violating section 1084 of Title 18 of the U.S. code, existing federal law still needs to be updated. Section 1084 was enacted in 1961 and was targeted at sports betting over telephone lines. Senator Kyl's bill recognizes that the Internet is quickly moving to a wireless environment and will soon move beyond that which is covered under section 1084. In addition, the criminal penalties found in Senator Kyl's bill will serve as a strong and much needed deterrent.

The NCAA recognizes that there is no perfect legislative solution in addressing the issue of Internet gambling. However, Internet gambling is still in its infancy. As the number of on-line sports betting sites continues to grow abroad, it is essential that the United States send a clear message that there is no longer any uncertainty-with the passage of The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act it will be a violation of federal law to accept bets over the Internet from the United States. A federal prohibition will send a clear and powerful message to an Internet gambling industry that is still in the early stages of development.

The NCAA strongly endorses The Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1999 and urges members of this Subcommittee to move quickly in adopting this legislation.