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Gambling study surveys Div. I officials
Posted: Wednesday March 29, 2000 10:53 PM
ATLANTA (CNNSI.com) -- A majority of Division I collegiate game officials -- 84 percent -- responding to a confidential survey indicate they have participated in some form of gambling, and about 40 percent indicate they have engaged in some form of sports betting. That's the result of a questionnaire mailed to 1,462 college football and basketball officials in a study conducted by the athletics department at the University of Michigan. Some 640 officials returned completed questionnaires, a response rate of 43.8 percent. While none of the officials admitted providing inside information, betting on a game they officiated or receiving money for not officiating fairly, two officials said that they "had been approached by someone about 'fixing' a contest," according to the report. And two officials said that their awareness of the point spread resulted in their officiating with a level of bias, the study said. Given concerns about recent gambling scandals in intercollegiate sports, the findings raise concerns about the potential for game officials and referees to influence the outcome of events. Among the findings: Twelve officials -- nearly 2 percent -- indicated they were aware of other officials who did not call games fairly because of gambling reasons. Fourteen officials admitted they had bet on sports through a bookie. Asked whether they had participated in any of 12 gambling activities since becoming Division I officials, they said the most popular were casino gambling, lotteries and slot machines or other gaming machines. In response to a specific question, 10.7 percent indicated they had bet on sports. However, separate questions about betting on individual and amateur sports indicated that about 40 percent of officials had engaged in sports gambling. A small percentage of Division I sports officials -- 13 or 2.2 percent -- are problem gamblers, and another four (0.8 percent) were pathological gamblers. Respondents came from all the major athletic conferences, and a cover letter explaining the purpose of the study was enclosed with the questionnaires. Measures were taken to ensure the respondents remained anonymous.
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