Illegal Gambling On College Sports example essay topic

Gambling threatens to undermine the integrity of intercollegiate athletics, student athletes, and their sponsoring institutions perhaps more than any other single aberrant behavior. In the past 18 months, gambling by college student athletes has become one of the greatest concerns among athletic administrators and coaches nationally. A string of gambling incidents in the sports of football and basketball has included student athletes from such leading educational institutions as Arizona State University, Boston College, University of Colorado, Columbia University, Fresno State University, Northwestern University, and the University of Cincinnati. Large amounts of money attract organized crime. The FBI estimated that 2.5 billion dollars was illegally gambled on the 1995 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, second only to the National Football League's Super Bowl. Money skimmed from sports betting schemes is used to fund a host of illegal activities including the sale of narcotics and loan sharking.

A study by Boston College of 648 Division I intercollegiate men's basketball and football respondents indicated that 2.5% had gambled money on other college sporting events, 3.7% had gambled money on a game in which they had played, and that 0.5% received money from a gambler for not playing well in a game. In the study at the College, it had concluded that 89.6% had gambled and that 21.7% gambled once a week or more. Almost 3% if the respondents were classified as pathological gamblers. In addition, pathological gambling is significantly correlated with tobacco use, alcohol abuse, and criminal offenses. The percentage of teens at the University is higher than that of the adult population. Also, the games that are available to them lack legal constraints to minors.

Gambling is linked to such practices as missing classes, dropping out of school, psychotropic drug abuse and engaging in criminal activities. There are also past incidents where Boston College basketball player and four others were found guilty of shaving points. Also, thirteen members of Boston College football team were suspended for betting on college football as well as professional football and baseball games. Three of those suspended were alleged to have bet against their team. This issue is now a part of legislation, but will the laws work?

Should there be anything else done to try to prevent Sports gambling? Legislation might make people feel better, but will it do any good? Laws that are passed by Congress will still not regulate gambling in any University. Therefore, Boston College Coaches, Sports Administrators and security will be set up in a program. This program will contain classes on information about gambling (the history at Boston College), the addiction (cause and effect), and how to prevent gambling. They will act as investigators throughout the College and report back to the Authorities.

Sports' gambling has reached a point where it has become so socially acceptable that it is fairly safe to conclude that many do not know that it is illegal activity so it will be fairly easy to identify the gamblers. The classes will be held at night on Chestnut Hill Avenue, right down the street from Boston College. The classes will be in a vacant building, which will be rented out for $3,700 monthly. The reason for the location (off campus) will be for the discreetness of the investigation that will occur. The deposit will be estimated $11,000. The program will offer textbooks on gambling, psychological behavior and the legislation of gambling.

The teachers will be officers of the law that specialize in undercover. Speakers of gambling addiction will also be provided, so the people attending these classes will understand the extent of the negative aspects of gambling. The classes will be mandatory for all the sports coaches, administrators and campus security of the College. The classes will be free and it will work off the Athletic Departments budget. College students and athletes don't recognize gambling as illegal. The students think that there is nothing wrong with the problem and that it is a norm in society.

The typical profile for these students believe that they have control of there own destiny, someone who is willing to take risks, and someone who believes he possesses the skill to be successful in this endeavor-shortcut to making big money. Said by one of the Boston College football players involved in the schools gambling scandal, "The attitude was: It's just a part of the college experience. To tell the truth, it never crossed my mind it was illegal; it was so commonplace. I saw betting everyday in the inner city. People were playing cards and shooting dice. It was normal".

(Lorenz V.C. and Yaffee, R.A.) The program that will be implemented will have no impact on the problem at hand. It's a waste of time and money. Just because laws are passed, programs are pushed and letters are written, college campuses will still continue illegal sports wagering". Because of the overwhelming majority of sports gambling, the legislation will have little effect. This bill is feel-good legislation.

This is strictly a public relations move that offers no tangible benefit". (Fahrenkopf, Frank J.) Another threat that may lead into more of a problem is if gambling on college athletes decreases then other forms of gambling will increase. There will be more Casino gambling, Internet gambling and Sports Tout. Sports Tout is also known as Sports handicappers. If you browse through any sports section in magazines you will find advertisements that ask customers to call a 1-800 or 1-900 telephone number and pay to listen to a recording of the tout's picks of sports teams that will beat the published point spread.

There is nothing illegal about this but in most cases consumers use this to place illegal sports gambling. Also, there is no regulation in this industry. "The Internet offers anonymity. All he or she needs is a credit card to place a sports wager.

Furthermore, the accessibility of the Internet is the greatest reason for gambling. It was revealed that 65% students have credit cards, 20% have four or more, and the average credit card balance is $2,226. They also have unlimited use of the Internet. Also, the number of on-line sites that handle sports bets has grown from 2 in 1996 to 90 today".

(NCAA) There may be a lot of opposing ideas of implementing an educational program. Take into factor that any new proposal that is trying to be determined always undergoes a debate. No matter what issue is being debated there are always pros and cons. People may not see Sports gambling as a problem but it is. Preventing illegal sports gambling will send a strong message to the students that sports gambling and point shaving schemes will not be tolerated in Universities. It strongly supports it to protect the integrity of college sports.

"By banning legal sports betting on high school, collegiate and Olympic events, we can put the emphasis back where it belongs: on athletes playing their best, not placing their bets". (Batt, Tony) Through having Coaches, Sports Authorities and Campus Security act as undercover investigators on Campus will decrease the gambling happening in Boston College. Illegal gambling on college sports and recommending an effective program to combat this serious problem that grows everyday in Boston College would help us better understand the nature of the problem. Studies need to explore gambling on campus and student attitudes toward gambling.

Amateur Sports Integrity Act directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish a program to support research and training in methods of detecting the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes, and for other purposes. This Act should also pertain to illegal sports gambling. "No one pretends this will solve all of the problems of intercollegiate athletics, but it is an important step to take". (NCAA) In addition, gambling can have a great impact on college student athletes. The students family and institutions are publicly humiliated, students are expelled, lose scholarships worth thousands of dollars and jeopardize any chance of a professional athletics career. Awareness around the campus needs to be gained.

If implementing a program, everyone on the campus, including teachers, students, athletes, coaches, etc., they will know how serious the problem is and of what extent it is. "The issue of sports gambling on college campuses is still largely overlooked by college administrators. Their needs to be comprehensive gambling programs conducted on each campus that targets all students (athletes and non-athletes). These programs need to discuss, in particular, the dangers of sports gambling and provide assistance for those in need". (Batt, Tony) Small percentages of Boston College stated that they had been criticized for their gambling; had argued with someone; cut classes or missed work; check fraud. It is linked to notorious crimes.

Law enforcement will also be behind the College one hundred percent to contribute. "Law enforcement must ensure that compliance with federal and state laws is a high priority. Over the past several years, the NCAA has received valuable assistance from local, state and federal law enforcement officials in identifying and prosecuting defendants in sports gambling scandals at several NCAA institutions. In addition, the NCAA and federal law enforcement officials have begun to share information on sports gambling activity. These types of efforts need to continue". (Lorenz V.C. and Yaffee R.A.) All existing studies point toward an extremely high incidence of gambling among college students.

However, in order to ensure that the most effective response is taken, we all must better understand the nature of the problem. Studies need to explore such issues as student attitudes toward gambling, the extent of sports gambling on campus, the prevalence of Internet gambling among students, and the influence of gambling advertising and other factors on student gambling behavior. If all these factors can be understood through the program that is going to be implemented, then Boston College has taken the first step to try to prevent sports gambling. It's about time that Boston College needs to address this issue to save the reputation that the College has lived up to for years. Negative publicity needs to be ended, and slowly but surely it will happen.

Illegal sports gambling, whether it is through a bookie or over the Internet, will continue to flourish on college campuses and in cities across the United States unless a strong effort is made to enforce state and federal laws prohibiting such activity. Starting an educational / investigating program will benefit Boston College for athletes, non-athletes and the community.