Prosecution unlikely for those who gamble on NCAA Tournament via Internet

Criminal justice sophomore Brad Collins said he enjoys betting on the NCAA Tournament because “it’s fun to be in a pool with a group of your buddies.”

But Collins, who said the pools he enters normally have small entrance fees, admitted there should be red flags waved when betting on college athletes goes too far.

“I see it being a problem because people are winning and losing money based on amateurs’ performances,” he said.

Collins and countless others will be involved this week in bracket pools for the upcoming men’s basketball NCAA Tournament.

While some pools may only be for fun, others may be for higher stakes and lead to severe consequences.

Computer science and engineering sophomore Ray Langevin said he was involved in a pool with dorm floormates last year, but only lost $5.

“I wasn’t expecting to win or anything, it was just something I did to have a good time and be part of it,” he said. “It gave me a reason to watch more than just MSU’s games.”

A major source of NCAA Tournament activity this week may not be the arenas where the games are played, but the Internet where the bets are made.

Gambling on the Internet - be it online casinos or NCAA office pools - is illegal in Michigan, but those placing bets on their home computers are unlikely to be prosecuted.

It’s been two years since Michigan made online gambling a two-year felony, but no one has yet been charged with the crime.

Mark Blumer, who works in the criminal division of the Attorney General’s Office, said enforcement is tough.

“It’s a very private type of crime,” he said. “One of the biggest problems we’re dealing with is the chaotic and boundary-less nature of the Internet. � (The operators) could be in Denmark. It’s like a crap shoot to find where these guys are.”

A dozen gambling sites could be found on the Internet five years ago. Last year there were about 1,400, with between 250 and 300 Internet gambling companies operating them, said Sebastian Sinclair, a gambling industry analyst for Christiansen Capital Advisors.

No-preference freshman Kirsten Axelson said laws are probably more curtailed toward the more extreme gamblers.

“I think the laws apply more to people who bet more money on the games than most people who are in office pools,” Axelson said.

Axelson said with the presence of the Internet, the stakes are definitely higher than normal office pools.

“I think the Internet makes it easier for people to gamble with a larger group of people and make more money,” she said. “The Internet also makes it much easier for people who normally would not have access to a bookie to find one and wager a larger amount of money.”

Collins said the Internet is a place he doesn’t go when placing wagers on the NCAA Tournament or any other sporting event.

“I don’t want to lose my money to someone I don’t know,” he said.

The Michigan State Police has a six-member computer crime unit that was developed to crack down on high-tech crimes, including child pornography and fraud.

The unit is encountering difficulty because gambling Web sites are based outside the United States, where its jurisdiction is limited.

As for Michigan residents who gamble on their home computers, they, too, are unlikely targets for prosecution.

“Technically, we could go after the people who are participating in the online gambling,” Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Tim Lee told Booth Newspapers on Monday. “I wouldn’t necessarily see us going after each individual gambler. That would be so huge.”

Police have to get a court order to monitor a person’s activities online and must show probable cause that a crime has been committed to get the order. Consequently, the state’s tactics for fighting Internet gambling rely heavily on warnings that gamblers may be scammed, rather than on the illegality involved.

Since last summer, the Michigan Department of Community Health has sponsored public service announcements warning of scams and addictions associated with online gambling. This year the department has $2.5 million budgeted for its anti-gambling ad campaign.

None of the ads say online gambling is illegal.

“It was far more effective to talk about the fact that it’s a scam,” said Jim McBryde, special assistant for drug policy for the health department.

Sinclair said gamblers lost $2.2 billion in the global Internet gambling industry last year. With minimal overhead costs, Web site operators enjoy 60 percent to 70 percent profit margins, compared to the 5 percent to 10 percent earned by owners of Las Vegas casinos, he said.

Sinclair said about 4 million people wager online, with 45 percent of the bets placed on sporting events.

Ads in sports and Internet magazines promoting online gambling sites are especially upsetting to NCAA officials who are pushing for a federal ban on collegiate sports betting and Internet gaming legislation.

Blake Wetherspoon, who handles marketing for the three-year-old GameDay Casino and Sports Book Web site, said the company directs users to consult with laws in their area. The company is based on the island of Curacao and licensed by the central government of the Netherlands Antilles.

“Everything we’re doing here is legally licensed,” he told Booth. “At this point we’re not aware that it’s illegal in the United States.”