The latter condition is aimed at preventing fantasy sports, which the professional leagues endorse, from morphing into sports betting, which they oppose. License fees aside, the leagues like fantasy sports because they increase interest in their games.

But so does sports betting, the market for which dwarfs the size of the fantasy sports industry. A 2003 ESPN survey found that more than 100 million Americans bet on sports each year, wagering something like $100 billion.

Yet taking sports bets is legal only in Nevada, and the leagues are adamantly opposed to broader legalization because they fear it would have a corrupting effect. Or so they say. Their actions suggest they know better.

"Most of the leagues now have a deal with the Las Vegas sports consultants," notes Jim Murphy, a professional handicapper. "The leagues pay them to track improper betting trends. Anytime you read about a point-shaving scandal or that so-and-so has been charged with trying to fix a game, it was the Las Vegas bookmakers that ferreted it out."

Whatever the likelihood that promising college players or well-paid professionals would jeopardize their careers by helping to fix games, keeping sports betting in the shadows of the black market is hardly a sensible way to reduce the odds.