Legalized sports gambling could present NCAA an opportunity, not a crisis

[TulsaWorld]

A dozen years ago as they opened a 219,000-square foot casino a five-minute drive from his university, Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione invited a reformed New York mobster to address Sooner athletes.

“You’re competitive. You have a higher incidence of gambling than normal people out there,” Michael Franzese said that day. “It’s an extension of your competitive spirit. You’ve got to be careful. Don’t let it get ahold of you. It is addictive, and there are problems.”

Castiglione was right to host Franzese. The message was important. The intent was genuine and pure. That’s still the case looking back.

On a basketball note...

A few years ago on the OU basketball beat, we were chatting with Lon Kruger about the challenges of coaching in the legalized sports betting mecca of Las Vegas.

“We wondered that when we went. We found out it was not any more so,” Kruger said. “Every fraternity around the country has a bookie. Y’know?”

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[sperry]

The Oklahoma legislature needs to get out front and get decent gambling legislation passed so that we don't end up just losing all the revenue to the Indian tribes, who will assuredly get sports books up and running soon. The legislature also needs to realize they can't tax the hell out of this or you will make it so that people still just gamble with offshore books online. A smaller tax on a higher volume of bets is better for everyone.