Site to shed gambling interests

[Louis Cypher]

By Mark Alesia
mark.alesia@indystar.com
June 13, 2003


SportsLine.com, a business partner of the NCAA, will sell its gambling interests by August as part of a previously announced agreement.

The issue came up Thursday after the University of Washington fired football coach Rick Neuheisel for participation in a high-stakes pool on the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Before the firing, NCAA president Myles Brand called Neuheisel's actions "totally unacceptable behavior."

But SportsLine.com still owned Vegas Insider, a Web site with gambling information and links to offshore bookmakers, and Las Vegas Sports Consultants, a major supplier of gambling lines to casinos and media.

In February, as part of an agreement that made SportsLine the producer of the NCAA's official Web site, the company agreed to sell its gambling interests. CEO Michael Levy said at the time it would be done "within the next few months."

"We met with CBS SportsLine last week in regular meetings as part of the development of our Web site, and they told us it would be done by Aug. 31," said Bill Saum, the NCAA's director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities. "It's on track and everyone is comfortable with the direction it's going."

SportsLine is a public company in which CBS is a minority owner. Because CBS has an 11-year, $6 billion contract to televise the men's basketball tournament, charges of hypocrisy were brought against the NCAA for speaking out against gambling.

While Neuheisel had said he believed his participation in the pools was OK, Saum said the NCAA's rules on gambling are clear.

"It's disappointing it had to come to this, but there is no room in intercollegiate athletics for any type of sports wagering," Saum said. "I feel for him. It's not a good day."

Saum said he does not think gambling and tournament pools are a major reason for interest in the NCAA tournament. He said an NCAA survey showed 7.9 percent of the fans say betting is the reason they watch the tournament. That, he said, ranked seventh among the reasons people gave.

"I used to respond subjectively to that question," Saum said. "Now I have a study that says it is not a significant number of people who are watching the tournament for gambling reasons."

Asked about office pools, Saum said, "I don't want to go overboard."

"Are $1 pools going to ruin the game? Certainly not," Saum said. "But I would say this: I don't think young people should participate in pools."