Fact Sheet: Gambling on College Campuses

  • Approximately 75 percent of college students gambled during the past year (whether legally or illegally) with about 18 percent gambling weekly or more frequently.
  • Lotteries, card games, pools (including raffles charitable small stakes gambling), sports betting and games of skill (e.g., bowling, basketball, pool, golf, backgammon, darts) are the most frequently chosen gambling activities by college students.
  • Both student athletes and students who are sports fans gamble more than other students.
  • The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has identified gambling by athletes as a major threat to the integrity of intercollegiate athletics and responded with the development of a comprehensive education program for student athletes at NCAA member schools.
  • Casino nights, poker tournaments and other gambling activities are popular at special events sponsored by campus organizations and fraternities and sororities.
  • Despite the prevalence of on-campus gambling, only 22 percent of U.S. colleges and universities have formal policies on gambling.

References

Barnes, G. M., Welte, J. W., Hoffman, J. H., & Tidwell, M. C. (2010). Comparisons of gambling and alcohol use among college students and noncollege young people in the United States. Journal of American College Health, 58(5), 443-452.

Huang, J. H., Jacobs, D. F., Derevensky, J. L., Gupta, R., & Paskus, T. S. (2007). A national study on gambling among US college student-athletes. Journal of American College Health, 56(2), 93-99.

LaBrie, R. A., Shaffer, H. J., LaPlante, D. A., & Wechsler, H. (2003). Correlates of college student gambling in the United States. Journal of American College Health, 52(2), 53-62.

National Collegiate Athletics Association. Don’t Bet on It. Retrieved January 17, 2011, from www.dontbetonit.org

Nelson, T. F., LaBrie, R. A., LaPlante, D. A., Stanton, M., Shaffer, H. J., & Wechsler, H. (2007). Sports betting and other gambling in athletes, fans, and other college students. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 78(4), 271-283.

Shaffer, H. J., Donato, A. N., LaBrie, R. A., Kidman, R. C., & LaPlante, D. A. (2005). The epidemiology of college alcohol and gambling policies. Harm Reduction Journal, 2(1), 1.

Weinstock, J., Whelan, J. P., Meyers, A. W., & Watson, J. M. (2007). Gambling behavior of student-athletes and a student cohort: what are the odds? Journal of Gambling Studies, 23(1), 13-24.