Gambling Epidemic Spreading

Patiently, Bill Saum waited for work to be completed - installation work that would give him access to the latest Las Vegas betting lines on a computer right in his office in Overland Park, Kan. Last week, he finally got connected.

Now Saum gets up-to-the-minute information on point spreads from nearly every major casino sports book in Las Vegas, as well as a number of offshore bookmakers. Diligently, he searches for telltale shifts in the numbers.

This is not a case of a high-rolling bettor looking for an edge. Saum is the NCAA’s agent and gambling representative. The presence of a new computer system in his office, and Saum’s careful monitoring of college basketball point spreads as March Madness goes into its Final Four weekend, are just the latest expressions of the NCAA’s increasing concern about the threat gambling poses to the integrity of intercollegiate sports.

The FBI has estimated that as much as $2.5 billion is wagered illegally on the Division I men’s basketball tournament. Las Vegas oddsmaker Roxy Roxborough said Monday that $80 million will be wagered legally in Las Vegas on this year’s tournament, compared with the $78 million wagered on the 1998 Super Bowl.

Roxborough said Monday night’s title game would generate about $10 million in legal gambling, and between $750 million and $1 billion illegally.

The Nevada Gaming Commission estimates that Las Vegas sports books do $2 billion a year in business, while the take by illegal sports books nationwide is $80 billion to $100 billion per year.

With hundreds of Internet sites offering information, advice and the opportunity to place bets from one’s home, gambling on sporting events is easier than ever - especially for college students.

“We think there are student bookies on every campus im America,” said Saum.