NBA Asks Oregon to Leave It Out of Game : Gambling: State plans to add basketball to its lottery. The league commissioner fears a disruptive influence.

NBA Commissioner David Stern today urged the Oregon Lottery Commission to drop its plan to add pro basketball to the lottery’s Sports Action betting game.

Stern said the game would harm the NBA’s reputation by making fans more interested in point spreads than their team’s performance.

“Our success is threatened if our game becomes the object of widespread gambling,” he said.

Stern’s comments came as the commission considered whether to include basketball in the Sports Action game, which has offered wagering on pro football contests all season.

The commission took testimony today on the proposal, but will take no action until later.

Oregon this fall became the first state to offer a lottery-sponsored game based on the outcome of professional sports contests.

The NFL also strongly opposes the Sports Action game, and is backing legislation in Congress to prohibit states from offering such games.

In the game, bettors can wager $1 or more on three to 14 football games each week against point spreads established by a Las Vegas oddsmaker. Half of the money wagered is returned as prizes on a parimutuel basis.

Stern said making NBA games the object of widespread gambling would increase suspicion in the minds of fans about whether players were doing their best.

“Missed baskets, unrealized opportunities and strategic decisions by coaches will come to be viewed as impacting the betting action rather than the contest that we feature,” he said.

“If the home team player is holding the ball with 20 seconds to go and a two-point lead, should he be subjected to boos for not seeking to shoot in order to cover the three-point spread?”

Stern also said that because basketball involves fewer players than football, the outcome of a game can be easily affected by the actions of a single player.

Lynn Snyder, the athletic director at Oregon State University, noted at today’s meeting that Sports Action already has generated $1.3 million for college sports programs, which previously received no state aid.

“We cannot survive without your assistance,” Snyder told the commission. “It is absolutely essential that this support continue.”