Koleman Strumpf wasn't surprised to hear of bookies working Capitol Hill. "I would imagine that some of the betting that goes on in Washington might be a little more political in orientation, rather than just strictly sports," said Strumpf, a new visiting scholar at the Cato Institute who is researching the economics of online gambling and file-sharing. Strumpf, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina, has focused on illegal sports betting, a business worth up to $380 billion annually. Strumpf, 35, felt the academic findings he was gathering in Chapel Hill, N.C., could be put to use in Washington, where debate over policy and law dealing with such activities online is building. "More file-sharing, probably, than online gambling is a topic that policy makers are very interested in," said Strumpf. He decided to ask the libertarian think tank if he could use its presence in Washington as a platform to raise his work's visibility. "There seems to be almost a complete lack of interaction between the work that academic types do and these kinds of policy debates." Strumpf said he only places sports bets in Las Vegas, and rarely at that, unlike others he'll likely meet in Washington during his monthly visits through the academic year.

KOLEMAN STRUMPF Cato scholar focuses on online betting

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By Lisa Caruso; Mark Kukis; Kellie Lunney and Gregg Sangillo