Sports gambling is an American’s right

There are two reactions people have when they find out that I bet on sports.

One is disapproval. After all, gambling tends to strike a large part of the population, mostly the “conservatives,” as an abhorrent activity (there’s a reason that Las Vegas is called “Sin City”).

But there’s a smaller segment of people out there who want in. The fact of the matter is some people just plain enjoy gambling.
While games of chance involving hard eights, split aces, and dot-com stocks enjoy an increasingly widespread legality across the land, one type of gambling is coming under heavy fire.

For the last year, the NCAA has been making huge strides toward outlawing betting on collegiate sports. Though taking on the casino industry would be an uphill battle for just about anyone, the NCAA is not exactly a force on Capitol Hill.

Nevertheless, there has been progress, and Sen. John McCain is at the forefront of a group of congressmen who want to turn my $10 bet on our beloved Horned Frogs to beat Southern Methodist into an act of criminality.

In fact, it’s likely that if introduced to the floor early enough this year, there will be little to prevent McCain’s bill, and a similar one in the house of representatives, from passing sometime this millennium.

The one thing I’m not too clear on in this whole picture is why everyone wants to put an end to all the gamblers’ fun. Betting on sports is, admittedly, not what you’d want to invest your retirement fund on. In fact, it’s one of the most efficient ways to kiss your money goodbye. But it’s your money, isn’t it?

The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars in the last 50 years to ensure that nuclear bombs could blow the world to bits several times over. Do they really have the right to tell me I can’t blow off $20 if I think North Carolina is going to beat the spread against Duke next week? What non-gamblers don’t realize is the thrill that can be had from having an emotional stake in a game that, without a few bucks on the line, would mean nothing. There’s nothing like winning. I can vouch for that.

Gambling is a leisurely diversion for those of us who just don’t know any better than to think we can beat the odds. Yes, it has the possibility of becoming an addiction, and can, if it becomes too much of an obsession, ruin people’s lives. Sounds to me no more harmless than alcohol use, or perhaps recreational gun ownership.

“We can’t legislate morality, but we can provide information,” said Bill Saum, the NCAA’s director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities. “The pressures from gambling are so prevalent on college campuses anymore that we just have to keep after it.”

I think you can legislate morality, and I think that Saum probably wants to, even if he won't admit or realize it. I just don’t think gambling is the moral issue those who seek to ban it make it out to be.

Should players, coaches or anyone affiliated with the specific sports be allowed to bet on games? Of course not.

Sometimes you give up certain portions of your freedom in order to participate in an activity (i.e. police officers, even if they’re 21, can’t drink alcohol while on duty). But why should my freedom be encroached upon?

If I really thought the $10 I had riding on Tennessee to beat Georgia last week affected the outcome of the game or made it uninteresting, then I would be the first to speak out against such a deplorable practice. But in reality, the game was a terrific double-overtime thriller that still provided me with plenty of excitement, not to mention a new reason to hate the Volunteers’ inability to win big games.

The truth is, as long as those associated with the sport keep their noses clean, then the rest of us should be free to buy a little emotional interest in the games.

Daniel Bramlette is a senior radio-TV-film major from Ogden, Utah.
He can be reached at (d.c.bramlette@student.tcu.edu).