Myth:
Regulated sports gambling threatens the character and integrity of sporting events.

Fact:
No one has a greater interest in keeping the games honest than legitimate bookmakers. Regulated bookmakers have successfully worked with the sports leagues and law enforcement officials to ensure games are fair and honest.

Details:
It is well known that the national sports leagues and NCAA are opposed to any form of gambling on professional or college athletics. The sports leagues contend that gambling threatens character of team sports. The sports leagues argue that prevalent sports gambling represents a “quick fix,” the desire to get something for nothing, and even corruption. Allowing rampant sports gambling, the sports leagues argue, can cause a cynical and suspicious perception of athletic events, in place of the traditional American values they should represent. For these reasons, the sports leagues have been proponents of laws to ban betting on college athletics and online sports betting.

The sports leagues’ position fails to take note of three factors: first, that Americans love to bet on sports and the will continue to do so with or without legal permission; second, that sports betting provides a dramatic increase of fan interest in sports, thereby increasing revenues for the sports leagues, owners and players, and, third, that regulated sports betting actually enhances fair and honest competition and prevents suspicious or corrupt play.

It is undeniable, historically, that Americans love to gamble on sports. That is why Americans wager hundreds of millions of dollars each year on sports in Las Vegas, at online sportsbooks, in office pools, in fantasy leagues, and, even, with local underground bookies. The American love of sports wagering has been, and continues to be, a reason why fans watch games and follow their favorite teams. Credible gambling experts agree that regulated sports gambling provides a market safeguard against “fixed” games, because the sportsbooks have an economic and moral interest to ensure that games are fair and honest. Of the very few sports fixing scandals that have emerged over the past 30 years, all were detected and reported to law enforcement by regulated sports books. Therefore, a regulated, transparent bookmaking industry helps protect the integrity of the games.

References:
Letter by the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and National Collegiate Athletic Association to Members of Congress supporting passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (1 February 2006). View Here.

Anthony Cabot and Robert D. Faiss, Sports Gambling in the Cyberspace Era, 5 Chap. L. Rev. 1, Chapman Law Review, Spring 2002, pp. 17-18. ("It is unclear why some members of Congress and the NCAA have been such vocal advocates for legislation that would criminalize wagering that takes place in Nevada's highly regulated sports books. .
. .there is no evidence of campus bookies or the involvement of organized crime in Nevada sports wagering. In fact, the Nevada experience has demonstrated just the opposite: that sports wagering, when it is highly regulated and scrutinized, forecloses the ability of
criminal elements to expand their nefarious operations through bookmaking profits. Because the Internet has rendered it even more difficult for federal and state authorities to eradicate sports wagering, now, more than ever, Nevada's model of regulation and taxation should be emulated, not discarded. . . .

The existing evidence suggests that, if anything, Nevada's sports books are tools that can be used to weed out the troubling aspects of sports wagering. Under Nevada's strict regulatory scheme, Nevada sports books are required to transact their business through a computerized bookmaking system approved by state regulators. These computerized systems create a detailed record of every transaction. Furthermore, while cash transactions are highly monitored throughout Nevada casinos, sports books are the only casino department that must report non-cash transactions of more than ten thousand dollars.

For their own protection, Nevada's sports books closely monitor fluctuations in betting activity that indicate irregularities, and must report suspicious wagers that appear to relate to illegal sports wagering activities. If someone is attempting a "fix," Nevada's sports books may be the target. As a result, Nevada's sports books have been the first to alert law enforcement agencies and those that guard the integrity of America's professional and amateur sports leagues to any suspicious betting activity. Without assistance from Nevada's sports books, college point shaving scandals may not be uncovered as quickly, or may not be discovered at all. Therefore, to outlaw Nevada's $2.3 billion in annual sports wagering with the hope that it will somehow eradicate the $380 billion in illegal wagering would not only be naive, it would be counterproductive to the very purpose of such an action.")

The American Gaming Association “strongly opposes any effort to ban legal wagering on college sports in Nevada.” The AGA takes the position that regulated sports gambling enhances both the goals of integrity and honest play. View here.