Sports betting hits college campuses as students admit to using financial aid to place bets
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A wave of sports betting across the nation is also hitting college campuses.
According to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, one in five college students have admitted to using their financial aid money to place bets.
“About two-thirds of college students who live on campus are actually betting on sports now,” said Ted Hartwell, Executive Director of Nevada Council on Problem Gambling.
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“This is just a really, really easy trip to fall into,” said Dr. Forrest Arthur, CEO of Resurgence Tampa Bay. “This is a very vulnerable population. They don’t have as much experience; they’re out in the world for the first time on their own, really experiencing freedom for the first time.”
Arthur is a former trauma surgeon who overcame his own addiction and now helps others do the same.
“I have seen in the last three to six months, several people of college age who are struggling with this, and in fact, I’m working with an 18-year-old right now who is in his first year of college here in Tampa, who has multiple substance addictions, he’s actually doing well with those, but he is really struggling with the gambling issue that he’s dealing with. That continues to not only cost him money and cause him trouble in school, eventually, that winds up taking him back to the substances,” said Dr. Arthur. “What a lot of people don’t realize because you’re not ingesting something when you’re gambling, it does the same thing in your brain.”
Only about 25 percent of colleges and universities have policies in place regarding gambling, while 60 percent of students surveyed said they gambled illegally, according to the American Gambling Association.
The University of South Florida sent the following statement regarding student betting:
“USF’s Student Code of Conduct follows Florida state laws regarding gambling. At this time, we have not seen any recent violations involving gambling. The university monitors the campus environment for behaviors that are disrupting our students’ academic and personal success, along with the safety and well-being of our community. When those behaviors are identified, we collaborate with campus partners to provide education, programs, or policy to address them.”
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Health professionals believe schools need to take a more proactive approach and educate students on the consequences and signs of compulsive gambling.
“There needs to be more education about what the potential consequences are of this, how to know if you’re falling into a compulsive gambling habit instead of something that’s just for enjoyment or for fun. I don’t really see there being any education at all at this point,” said Dr. Arthur. ” Any one of the warning signs, you’re overspending, it’s starting to cause you problems paying your bills or meeting your commitments, you’re starting to miss classes or not do as well in school because of it, people who are close to you are noticing it and bringing it up.” Health professionals believe schools need to take a more proactive approach and educate students on the consequences and signs of compulsive gambling.
The American Gaming Association estimates $2.7 billion will be bet this year on the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments through legal sports books as it becomes legal in more states and more widely accepted.
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