With a basketball playing President in the White House, 2009 was time for even Barack Obama to trot out his brackets to the American public. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/18/March-Madness-At-the-White-House
But, it’s also time for the NCAA to apply its annual pressure to bring its anti-gambling message to whoever would fold. Some did, some didn’t. First of all, let’s set the stage for the scope of March Madness as a gambling event.
The NCAA itself, the governing body of all of college sports, estimates that 1 in 10 Americans will complete a tournament bracket. Estimates of legal wagering on March Madness in Nevada are that US$80-90M is wagered. On the other hand, sports gambling analyst Danny Sheridan estimates that more than US$7 billion is illegally wagered via brackets distributed within offices and circles of friends, online betting, and bets with campus or neighborhood bookies.
This increasingly popular college tournament is fueled by lots of alumni passion and has become a cash cow for both the NCAA and broadcaster CBS. Many point to online gambling as a major reason for its popularity. March Madness 2009 projects earnings of $545-million in ad revenues alone for CBS, more than double the $239.1-million it generated 10 years ago according to a TNS Media Intelligence report. Advertising rates for the championship game, seen by 40.3 million people last year, are roughly three times greater than those during the NBA finals or the World Series.
With the Final Four playing out in Detroit this week, the NCAA has persuaded the Ontario government to hold off on basketball betting at Caesars Windsor Casino. This applies to all bets for men's Division I basketball from March 30 to April 6 at the Canadian casino. Apparently, the City of Windsor supported the proposal. Caesars Windsor is owned by the Ontario Lottery Gaming Corp. (OLGC), a government agency. Press accounts note that the OLGC had $3.4-million in sales on the tournament last year, or about $20,000 per game, which is double what an average NCAA football and basketball game receives the rest of the year. Casinos in Michigan cannot offer sports wagers.
The NCAA opposes all forms of sports betting legal or not. They began this effort after a variety of point-shaving scandals hit some college campuses since the 1950s. It has strict guidelines prohibiting any kind of wagering for its athletes, coaches and staff. Athletic department staff members and student athletes are prohibited from gambling on both collegiate and professional sporting events. Even pools or fantasy leagues that offer a prize are off limits.
It could be that this was a financial decision for the Windsor Casino since the National Basketball Coaches Association has rented several hundred rooms at Caesars Windsor for coaches, exhibitors and sponsors. Coaches wives are also hosting a fund-raising event their so there are other revenue-generators to help offset the casinos ban on basketball bets.
In the mean time, you may be aware that the State of Delaware is attempting to exercise the option to allow sports betting that it was allowed under federal statute since 1982 (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act or PASPA). The proposed sports betting lottery is expected to generate about $55 million/year for the state if it clears the General Assembly. A hearing will be held on this soon and www.igamingnews.com is covering this story.
Sports leagues and the NCAA have been lobbying against that state legislation to allow sports betting, using the integrity in sports argument. In fact, NCAA officials are threatening to ban all playoff games in Delaware if the state legalizes sports betting. In fact, NCAA spokeswoman Stacey Osburn said NCAA policy prohibits the staging of any session of an NCAA championship in any metropolitan area where legal sports wagering is allowed.
Some would call the NCAA’s stridency disingenuous. But, one thing is certain. As the Tar Heels and Spartans take to the court, millions will be watching the game to see if they won their bets.