As reported by: Reuters
SportsLine.com Inc. (SPLN.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , an online provider of sports information, on Monday said it sold a gambling analysis and consulting business to a group of Las Vegas investors for an undisclosed sum.

SportsLine, which runs cbs.sportsline.com, sold its Las Vegas Sports Consultants unit in part to appease a client, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which opposes gambling on its events.

The NCAA, the governing body for U.S. collegiate sports, takes a hard line against gambling because it fears being tainted by organized crime and other illegal gamblers who prey on impressionable students.

SportsLine, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, earlier this year sold gambling enthusiast Web site, VegasInsider.com, to a British company as part of its efforts to focus on its deal with the NCAA. SportsLine also manages sites for the National Football League and its 32 teams, and the PGA tour.

Las Vegas Sports Consultants provides handicapping information and consulting for companies licensed to take bets in Nevada.

The group of buyers for Las Vegas Sports Consultants includes Nevada lawyer Ellen Whittemore, who specializes in gaming law and regulation; her husband, real estate attorney Jeff Patterson; her brother David Whittemore, also an attorney; and Ken White, a long-time Las Vegas handicapper.

White will run the business, David Whittemore said.

Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and its CBS television network own about 40 percent of SportsLine's shares, a Sportsline.com spokesman said.