Sunday, March 18, 2007

The 2007 NCAA men's basketball tournament is now underway, and people across
the nation are frantically checking scores and updating the status of their
tournament brackets. Central Michigan University faculty member Tim Otteman,
a leading authority on sports-related gambling, has a few initial thoughts
on sports gambling trends, particularly as they relate to so-called "March
Madness." "Sports gambling has truly replaced baseball as America's pastime.
From buying Super Bowl squares to filling out NCAA tournament brackets to
betting on the Internet to gambling directly with a bookmaker, sports
gambling is one of the most popular sports participation activities in the
U.S. The NCAA estimates that one in 10 Americans will complete a bracket for
the NCAA tournament." "While completing a tournament bracket for $5 or $10
seems to be a harmless activity, in reality it potentially starts the
slippery slope toward gambling addiction. No one becomes an alcoholic before
they have their first drink, and no one becomes a drug addict before they
smoke their first joint. Similarly, no one becomes addicted to gambling on
sports before they make their first bet - and frequently the first bet is
filling out a bracket for the NCAA tournament." "Numerous studies indicate
that college students are two to four times more likely to become
pathological gamblers than the general adult population. Combine that with
the tremendous amount of information available about the games via the
Internet, the 50/50 odds on predicting a winner with the point spread, the
popularity of college athletics, the competitive spirit of former
interscholastic athletes and the disposable time a college student enjoys,
and you have the perfect recipe for involvement in sports gambling." Otteman
is an authority in sport administration and management, sports sociology,
and sports gambling.