WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nevada’s Republican senator introduceda bill in Congress Feb. 14 to require colleges and universitiesto disclose illegal gambling statistics in their already-requiredannual campus crime reports.
According to Sen. John Ensign’s press secretary Tracy Scott,"The Nevada delegation came up with this legislation to combatlegislation [sponsored by Senator John McCain]."
The legislation McCain introduced during the last Congresswould have made betting on any National Collegiate Athletic Associationsporting event illegal.
Scott said there is a portion of the betting done on sportsthat is legal and should not be made illegal.
"If you take away the part of this sport betting thatis legal, it hurts Nevada’s economy," Scott said.
S338 would increase penalties for already-illegal sports gambling,commission studies on illegal sports gambling among minors andon university campuses and require colleges and universities toreport statistics on illegal gambling as part of their generalcrime statistics.
HR641, similar bill introduced in the House of Representativesby Rep. James Gibbons, R-Nev., would require that institutionsonly report the statistics to the secretary of education.