The Popularity of Sports Betting Poses Potential Problems in American Youth.

Sports betting has taken the nation by storm as illegal sports books are getting shut down across the country and legal sports books are becoming more accessible. States now have the option to legalize gambling after a Supreme Court ruling in favor of New Jersey’s gambling policies.

There’s more money at stake than you may think. According to Legal Sports Report, 13 states currently have regulated legal sports betting industries. CQ Researcher reported that $4.2 billion was wagered legally through Nevada's regulated sports books while an estimated $150 billion was bet on sports through illegal sports websites and local book makers in 2015. “Since my fraternity has a bookie, the whole [fraternity] house has been betting on sports.” Said one student at the University of Kansas. “Betting on sports games makes the game more interesting and fun to watch and you could win some money.”

Gambling on competitions and events can be traced back to competitive walking in 1810 when the English aristocracy began racing the footmen against each other in walking contests, according to CQ Researcher. These competitions became a hub for betting. Gambling on competitive walking reached its peak in the 1860’s, 70’s and 80s. Soon after, betting began to spill into a sport with rising popularity - baseball.

The legality of sports betting has been a public debate since 1931 when Nevada became the only state to allow legal sports betting of any kind. Their controversial industry was able to stay alive when Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act in 1992. The law prohibits state-run sports betting; however, Nevada was excluded. In 2006, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was put into place to combat online betting. It forced U.S. financial institutions to decline any payment meant for illegal online bets. The government’s crack down on illegal betting on sports has led people to question the ethics, morality, benefits, and cons of sports betting.

Since the boom of placing bets on baseball games, betting has evolved greatly. Today, you can place bets on any professional sport online from your cell phone. The mixture of accessibility and constant social media promotion has led many college students to start gambling.

According to US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, up to 23% of college students gamble once or more a week, leaving 3% to 14% with a gambling problem. Although, in a national survey the internet gambling rate appears to be fairly low in adults as only 1% to 8% reported wagering online. The downside, however, is that 23% to 37% of college students reported using the internet to place a bet. According to Gassmann, Emrich, & Pierdzioch, these sports bettors are now younger than ever before. So why are young college students more likely to place online wagers and risk falling into gambling addiction compared to adults? They often times consider betting alongside peers as a rebellious activity that provides an outlet to express themselves, according to Korn et al.

Traditionally, the morality of gambling within American society is associated with materialism and other negative thoughts according to Amos, Holmes, & Strutton. Betting operators, otherwise known as bookmakers, are trying to change the traditional views about sports betting by associating gambling with positive attitudes. They create advertisements with appealing characters, such as sport celebrities, participating in gambling, according to Amos, Holmes, & Strutton. One college bookmaker on The University of Kansas campus, who wishes to remain anonymous, said “When watching a sporting even in a party setting, I like to talk about the gambling implications of the competition, such as the spread or over/under, to show the exciting possibilities and rewards that your bets could produce.” It is this connection to sports that allow young sports bettors to feel as though sports betting is a less harmful form of gambling that can produce money and fun.

Fantasy sports, such as fantasy football, have also contributed to the youth gambling problem. Fantasy sports started to gain popularity in 1990 according to The Los Angeles Times. Since then, fantasy sports have grown into groups of friends placing bets on their hand-picked teams’ performance each week. Fantasy pools can be found anywhere today, where it be in work environments, friend groups, or online through ESPN. The growing industry reported 56.8 million people participating in the United States and Canada alone in 2015 according to The Journal of Gambling Studies. Although there has been large growth in popularity of fantasy teams, there has been little research on the impact it has on adolescents. According to The Journal of Gambling Studies, regular participation in fantasy sports betting among the youth is shown to give users a higher risk of gambling related issues. Men typically participate in fantasy sports, although women who participate also have a higher chance of succumbing to these gambling problems.

Many factors can contribute to increased risk of gambling addiction. According to The Journal of Gambling Studies, some factors are: amount of gambling expenditure, number of gambling accounts, gambling promotions seen and used, and impulsiveness. Gambling problems have been seen to be associated with heavy alcohol consumption, drug use, nicotine use, and suicide attempts according to Engwall. Youths who have gambling issues are also susceptible to poor academic outcomes, behavioral issues, criminal involvement, and mental health issues. The Journal of Gambling Studies states that increased exposure to gambling advertisements and formats have been deemed a serious public health issue requiring increased prevention efforts.