All Betting Sports off Final Four at Caesars in Windsor

All Betting Sports off Final Four at Caesars in Windsor

By Monica Wolfson
Windsor Star

Caesars Windsor will suspend sports betting on U.S. college basketball during the Final Four tournament in Detroit, a gambling official confirmed Sunday.
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation and Caesars agreed to halt basketball wagers at the sports betting parlor from March 30 to April 6 at the request of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, said Rui Brum, spokesman for the OLG.
"We were happy to honor the request because we are right in the NCAA area," Brum said.
"The amount bet in the betting parlor (on the Final Four) is a modest amount. Most who bet on these wagers do it through Pro-Line."
Pro-Line is the sports betting that can be done at convenience stores that sell other lottery products.
Gamblers can still wager on most of March Madness, which is the NCAA tournament to determine the national college basketball winner. The tournament runs from March 19 to April 6.
Brum didn't explicitly say why the OLG granted the request, but he reiterated Windsor's close proximity to host city Detroit.
During the Final Four, thousands of U.S. basketball coaches are coming to Detroit for the annual convention of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
"The NABC board of directors, congress members and a majority of the Division I head coaches will be lodged in Windsor," the coach association's website said.
The convention runs April 2-6 and the majority of the hotel rooms booked are Caesars, the Hilton, Radisson and Quality Suites, according to coach association website.
Coun. Fulvio Valentinis speculated the NCAA didn't want to tempt its members with gambling on the Final Four when betting is strictly forbidden by NCAA rules.
"I guess that's maybe why the request was made," Valentinis said. "(The NCAA) has restrictions and I guess they were uncomfortable.
"I know the tourism people were working on (attracting convention visitors). I'm glad to hear that appears to be the case."
The NCAA bans student athletes, coaches and athletic department staff, conference employees and NCAA staff from sports wagering, its website said.
The NCAA has had many gambling scandals. In 1979 Boston College basketball players were recruited and bribed to ensure the team wouldn't win by a certain margin in a scheme call point shaving.
In 1996, 13 Boston College basketball players were suspended for betting on college and pro football games.
In 1998, four basketball players at Northwestern University were indicted for fixing three games during the 1994-95 season.
Final Four parlor gambling will also be halted at Casino Niagara because the Windsor and Niagara Falls casinos have similar computer systems, Brum said. "You can't shut one down without the other."


All Betting Sports off Final Four at Caesars in Windsor