[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3800 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3800

To establish a panel to investigate illegal gambling on college sports 
   and to recommend effective countermeasures to combat this serious 
                           national problem.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 1, 2000

  Mr. Gibbons (for himself and Ms. Berkley) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a panel to investigate illegal gambling on college sports 
   and to recommend effective countermeasures to combat this serious 
                           national problem.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Combatting Illegal College and 
University Gambling Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) illegal gambling on college sports is a serious 
        national problem;
            (2) illegal gambling by college students and other underage 
        persons, particularly on sports, is a serious national problem 
        that warrants effective national countermeasures to combat it;
            (3) recent scientific reports suggest a very high incidence 
        of illegal gambling among college students, on college sporting 
        events;
            (4) illegal student bookies are present at every collegiate 
        institution;
            (5) there is evidence that illegal sports gambling, 
        including that conducted on college and university campuses 
        through illegal student bookies, is linked to organized crime 
        and is a major source of revenue for organized crime 
        operations;
            (6) the FBI estimates that close to $2,500,000,000 is 
        wagered illegally on the National Collegiate Athletic 
        Association Division I Men's Basketball Tournament each year;
            (7) in Nevada, the only State where such sports betting is 
        legal, the 1998 National Collegiate Athletic Association 
        Division I Men's Basketball Tournament saw approximately 
        $80,000,000 wagered with Nevada's regulated sports books, or 
        only three percent of that wagered illegally elsewhere;
            (8) there are no comprehensive studies available that 
        analyze the prevalence of illegal gambling on college sports;
            (9) the National Gambling Impact Study Commission (NGISC) 
        (as authorized under Public Law 104-169) was expressly limited 
        by its statutory charter to a study of legal gambling but did 
        recommend that the role of illegal sports gambling be examined 
        in future gambling related research including research by 
        agencies of the Department of Justice;
            (10) the issue of illegal gambling on college sports is 
        still largely overlooked by college administrators;
            (11) there needs to be comprehensive gambling education 
        programs conducted on each campus that target all students as 
        recommended by the NGISC;
            (12) illegal gambling on college sports will continue to 
        flourish throughout the United States unless a strong effort is 
        made to enforce State and Federal laws prohibiting such 
        activity;
            (13) in order to combat illegal gambling on college sports 
        in this country, law enforcement must ensure that compliance 
        with Federal and State laws is a high priority; and
            (14) absent meaningful countermeasures, including 
        implementation of more effective student awareness and 
        education campaigns, illegal gambling on college sports will 
        continue to be a problem on college and university campuses 
        across the United States.

SEC. 3. STUDY OF GAMBLING ON COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES.

    (a) Establishment of Panel.--Not later than 90 days after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a panel, 
which shall be composed of Federal, State, and local government law 
enforcement officials, to conduct a study of illegal college sports 
gambling.
    (b) Contents of Study.--The study conducted by the panel 
established under subsection (a) shall include an analysis of--
            (1) the scope and prevalence of illegal college sports 
        gambling, including unlawful sports gambling (as defined in 
        section 3702 of title 28, United States Code);
            (2) the role of organized crime in illegal gambling on 
        college sports;
            (3) the role of State regulators and the legal sports books 
        in Nevada in assisting law enforcement to uncover illegal 
        sports gambling and related illegal activities;
            (4) the enforcement and implementation of the Professional 
        and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, including whether it 
        has been adequately enforced;
            (5) the effectiveness of steps taken by institutions of 
        higher education to date, whether individually or through 
        national organizations, to reduce the problem of illegal 
        gambling on college sports;
            (6) the factors that influence the attitudes or levels of 
        awareness of administrators, professors, and students, 
        including student athletes, about illegal gambling on college 
        sports;
            (7) the effectiveness of new countermeasures to reduce 
        illegal gambling on college sports, including related 
        requirements for institutions of higher education and persons 
        receiving Federal education funds;
            (8) potential actions that could be taken by the National 
        Collegiate Athletic Association to address illegal gambling on 
        college and university campuses; and
            (9) other matters relevant to the issue of illegal gambling 
        on college sports as determined by the Attorney General.

SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the panel, the 
Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on the study 
conducted under section 3, which shall include--
            (1) recommendations for actions colleges, universities, and 
        the National Collegiate Athletic Association should implement 
        to address the issue of illegal gambling on college sports;
            (2) recommendations for intensive educational campaigns 
        which the National Collegiate Athletic Association could 
        implement to assist in the effort to prevent illegal gambling 
        on college sports;
            (3) recommendations for any Federal and State legislative 
        actions to address the issue of illegal gambling on college 
        sports; and
            (4) recommendations for any administrative or private 
        sector actions to address the issue of illegal gambling on 
        college sports.
                                 <all>