NEWS FROM NAGANO: A DAILY DOSE OF OLYMPIC HEADLINES : BETTORS SHUNNING THE GAMES.

Byline: Associated Press 

Norway created a stir at the 1994 Winter Olympics when it allowed gambling on events at the games and named a Norwegian bookmaker the official gambling sponsor. There'll be no such furor this time.

While betting on horse, bicycle and speedboat races is big business in Japan, the country won't permit wagering on any events at the Winter Olympics. In Nevada, the only U.S. state that permits parimutuel wagering on sporting events, there's virtually no interest in the Feb. 7-23 games in Nagano, Japan.

``It's about the same as for indoor soccer,'' said Jake Kolleth, a manager at the Stardust Race & Sports Book. ``But no one really bets on that either.''

With a profit of 10 percent available on an event if wagers are spread evenly on both sides, Nevada sportsbooks will post lines for any game that draws interest. With opening ceremonies scheduled for Friday, Nevada sportsbooks are posting only two Olympic propositions: the nation to win the most medals and the gold-medal winner in a hockey competition where NHL players will compete for the first time.

Neither wager is drawing much interest, sportsbook managers said.

On the drug-war front

Olympic officials accused U.S. professional sports organizations of undermining the global fight against doping by failing to test for performance-enhancing drugs.

International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch said many sports bodies still ignore the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

``It was the IOC which started the fight against doping,'' Samaranch said Monday. ``However, there are many sports organizations which have taken no measures to combat this scourge. . . . Doping is cheating, and cheating has no place in the world of sport.''

Samaranch's remarks came in the wake of recent doping scandals, including several Chinese drug cases at last month's world swimming championships in Australia, which have tarnished the image of Olympic sports.

Samaranch did not single out which organizations were lax on drug testing. But IOC officials, including the highest-ranking American in the Olympic movement, said Samaranch's remarks were directed mainly at pro sports in the United States such as football, basketball, baseball and hockey.

COUNTDOWN TO OLYMPICS

Days until opening ceremony: 4

Snowfall Monday: No new snow. Current blanket is 6.3 inches in Nagano city and 85 inches on men's downhill course.

Olympic update: Athletes and officials from 72 nations will take part in the upcoming games, making it the biggest Winter Olympics. In the 1994 Lillehammer Games, 67 countries participated.

Carrying the torch: The Olympic flame on Monday passed through the towns of Kijimadaira, Iiyama, Toyoda, Chino, Suwa, Misato, Horigane and Toyoshina, all in Nagano prefecture.

Going for the gold: Is women's sumo wrestling coming to the Olympics? Juan Antonio Samaranch said today the IOC has decided that any new sport in future games must have a women's event. Sumo wrestling and bodybuilding federations were given provisional recognition by the IOC last week.