Brad Storms

Bailey
Writ 116-017
16 May 2014
Final research essay
"I want people to understand, gambling is not a bad thing if you do it within the
framework of what it's meant to be, which is fun and entertaining"(Jordan). It seems as if
gambling should just be that easy, but the sad truth is that there are plenty of people in the United
States who abuse the right to gamble and end up losing everything they had. There is countless
sad stories of people who have gone through unbelievable amounts of illegal crime in order to
pay off their gambling debt. One of the most popular forms of gambling in the last ten years has
been betting on sports games. It has become a big deal to bet on newly growing sporting events,
the newest being the March Madness Games. The games first started in 1939 and was coined
March Madness shortly after. Back in the early twentieth century, there were only eight teams
that participated, now there is over sixty teams participating in the tournament. In 2010, the
NCAA signed a deal worth billions that allowed them to broadcast all of their games on all CBS
channels. This just proves that over the last couple of years that the tournament has grown to
unbelievable size and popularity. The basketball games have even seen a giant growth in
gambling, and wagering on the outcomes of the games played. Las Vegas has seen an overall
growth in popularity and population in the last twenty five years. Simply put, more opportunities
to gamble equals more people being attracted to coming and gambling which in turn leads to
more revenue for casino owners. This overall growth in Gambling has lead to many benefits and
problems both involving the student athletes of the NCAA and also individuals in professional
leagues. As any basketball fan would know, March Madness is an extremely emotional time for
the athletes who are playing, and some believe that the outside pressure from fans may not be
good for the mental state of the athletes. There are also some who view that the revenue gained
from gambling helps many people with extra cash in their wallet. Whether you believe in
gambling or not, it is a proven fact that march madness has more money wagered on it that
almost any other sporting event in the United States. Some things need to be answered like what
does the NCAA feel like they need to do to keep gambling regulated or if it needs to be banned
overall. Because I find these some of the most important evidence in the artifact I have chosen to
take a closer look at the growth of gambling in March Madness, the effect that gambling is
having on the players in the tournament, and how to productively gamble without breaking any
rules.
Almost every article that I have read mentions somewhere in there that the growth of
gambling is on the rise as of right now. "A report last week by outplacement firm Challenger,
Gray & Christmas, says that 50 million Americans are expected to participate in office
pools"(Barra). This statistic shows that millions of American participate each year in filling out
these brackets. A bracket is a term coined to March Madness, and it represents a tournament
bracket in which the participants predict who is going to win each matchup. With every
hypothetical win the teams move into the next round and the participant will predict the next
outcome. This has gained popularity not even in just the office but in schools, and among us
college students as well. I know in my high school, over two hundred kids would put money into
a pot and see who would end up winning at the end of the tournament. Obviously that was
majorly frowned upon by the school and school system, but the kids still did it because it's fun
and exciting. this is just a prime example of how the growth of gambling is continuing to
expand, and this is also leading to more viewing of games. The more people who watch the
NCAA tournament games, the more revenue CBS and the NCAA make. CBS is a television
company that in 2010 signed a big deal worth billions with the NCAA that exclusively gives
them the rights to air all March Madness games on their stations. The NCAA benefited an
unbelievable amount because of this deal, they gained a lot of profit for really next to no cost to
them. So this brings up the question, why would the NCAA be against gambling if it has lead to
all of this expansion and viewership?
" In 2010, the organization (NCAA) released a manifesto on college sports betting, which
read, in part, 'Sports wagering can be a serious crime that threatens the well-being of student-
athletes and the integrity of the game'(Barra). This proves right here why the NCAA believes
that gambling and sports wagering is not a good idea. The NCAA has been known lately for its
crackdowns on players shaving points in return for money. Famous sports gambler Ryan
Glasspiegler knows the ins and outs of the gambling world and he has heard of a few instances
in which some players are shaving points and causing their team to lose to benefit someone in
return for money. Since the NCAA and even some pro leagues have cracked down on this, the
amount of points shaving has decreased dramatically. The more generally accepted way that
gambling has encouraged cheating is in the play or the referees of the game. "Its extremely
unlikely that anyone in the professional leagues whos a player though the referees, as weve
seen with Donaghy, are a more viable possibility is on the take. But, in college basketball,
there are almost certainly multiple games being fixed in any given year"(Glasspiegler). The
article refers to a guy names Donaghy who was a particular referee that was found guilty of
taking bribes and swinging games in certain ways that favor whoever paid him. This kind of stuff
is the exact reason that gambling should be closely monitored, because if the kids who play this
sport are going to invest all of their time and effort into practicing and playing, they should be
able to have a fairly refereed game, and they should have the confidence to believe that there was
no possibility of the game being thrown or having points shaved. The same applies to those who
are gambling or wagering on games too, whether it be just a simple office tournament or betting
thousands of dollars in a casino. Of course this will do no good if you have no idea how to fill
out a bracket.
For one to make a completely educated guess on how to fill out their brackets, there is a
few things that you must consider before making your pick. "The first round is as close to a sure
thing as you can find in sports. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 (and 68 after
the 2010 season), in 116 tries, a No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed. And No. 2 seeds are
110-6 against No. 15 seeds"(Barra). So with that being said it is really easy to get some
predictions right by going with the higher seed. It is extremely simple and important that you
make a big splash with getting your first round selection teams right. This is due to the fact that
if you get a lot of the predictions wrong it will lead to a much higher chance of predicting the
wrong team in the following rounds. If you get fifty percent of your first round picks wrong, it is
nearly impossible to win in any office pool. The next few rounds its really up to your own
personal choice in picking the winning teams. Most of the times it is always the safer choice to
go with the higher rater team. The lowest ranking team to go all the way and win was an eight
seed which actually happened in 1985 with Villanova winning the whole thing. This year the
championship game was between a seven seed and an eight seed. This was a very rare year,
mainly because out of the last fifteen champions, eleven of them were number one seeds. So
with this being said, do not try and make too many bold predictions, listen to the rankings.
With all of that being said, it seems as if gambling in United States is a very controversial
subject. It is fair to assume that the world would just be better off without any form of gambling,
but there is also another side that would think that life is all about using knowledge to gain
money. If you really think about it, that is all gambling really is. If someone were to go play
blackjack in a casino they are not going to win based on all luck, there is a lot of strategy
involved in making money. The same goes for sports gambling, you need to have a good idea of
how the teams are playing and how they match up. It is fair to say that either way there needs to
be some type of control, or rules that need to be more strictly enforced on gambling and the
effects of gambling on players and Referees. My own personal preference is that gambling
should continue to be allowed in all sporting events, but there should be no interference with
gambling and on the outcome of the games. If we continue to influence the game's outcome with
money, than its really not what sports are here to represent. From day one every kid has been
told that if they work the hardest, they will end up being victorious. That is something that
everyone should think of multiple times each day, work hard and become victorious.
Works Cited
Barra, Allen. "Is March Madness a Sporting Event-or a Gambling Event?" The Atlantic.
Atlantic Media Company, 21 Mar. 2014. Web. 06 May 2014.
Benning, Tom. "For Gamblers, March Is Sheer Madness." The Dallas Morning News. N.p.,
17 Mar. 2014. Web. 06 May 2014.
Glasspiegel, Ryan. "Gambling Expert RJ Bell Discusses the Super Bowl, March Madness,
and Whether Athletes Fix Games." The Big Lead. N.p., 26 Feb. 2014. Web. 06 May
2014.
Jordan, Michael. "Gambling Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, 2011. Web. 16 May 2014.