Ole Miss Announces College Gambling Center As Concerns Rise Over

The University of Mississippi on Monday revealed the upcoming launch of its brand-new Center on Collegiate Gambling, which scientists refer to as the "first of its kind in the nation" in the middle of increasing nationwide concern about banking on collegiate sports.


The center was approved by the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees in February and will cost about $700,000 a year. It was conceived to study the "heightened dangers" for college trainees and trainee professional athletes triggered by the quick growth of legalized sports wagering and online gaming, its founders said. Researchers said the center will now begin working with personnel.


IHL ´ s approval of the center follows the release of survey outcomes by University of Mississippi scientists showing that 39% of Mississippi university student gambled in a range of formats in the previous year. Of those who took part in sports betting, 6% of Mississippi university student satisfied criteria for issue betting as defined by the American Psychiatric Association.


"We actually believe that this is a concern that impacts Mississippi at big," Hannah Allen-King, executive director of the university ´ s William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing and assistant teacher of public health, said in a news release. "And so, we ´ re trying to work with our lawmakers as they discuss policy change around gambling in the state."


Commercial sports betting was effectively prohibited with a couple of exceptions till 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a 1992 prohibition. Mississippi permits sports betting now, however just inside casinos.


After the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, sports gambling companies released a full-court press lobbying campaign to bring sports betting to tens of millions of mobile phones around the country, an effort reported to be the fastest expansion of legalized gaming in American history. The business have actually poured money into lobbying state legislators, including those in Mississippi.


But Mississippi has remained among the couple of holdout states, largely due to fears that legalization might hurt the bottom line of the state ´ s gambling establishments and increase the prevalence of gambling dependency. That hasn ´ t stopped a flourishing black market from taking hold in the state.


In 2024, illegal online betting in Mississippi comprised about 5% of the national prohibited market, which is about $3 billion in unlawful bets in Mississippi, proponents said that year. Supporters of legalization say people will place online sports wagers despite whether the practice is legal, so the state ought to control and tax it.


The state House has actually voted, for the third year in a row, to legalize mobile sports betting throughout the ongoing 2026 legal session. But Senate leaders have said they prepare to let the procedure die once again.


Nevertheless, college campuses have actually become hubs of activity for sports betting and, significantly, gambling addiction. This has actually prompted require research study into mobile sports betting ´ s growth and influence on young grownups. The brand-new center will intend to produce such research study, which its creators say is lacking without a nationwide research center in the U.S. dedicated entirely to the research study of college gambling.


The academic research will focus on university student gambling behaviors ranging from card video games to proposal betting and prediction markets. The center will also promote "evidence-based policies and programs to avoid harm," including training counselors to help students having problem with gaming.


Eight University of Mississippi counselors have actually already received the certification to better equip them to identify betting dependency in trainees, the researchers stated.


The rise of college gambling has actually also caused increased hazards directed at professional athletes, whose performance is now carefully tracked by gamblers.


"In a state like Mississippi where we put on ´ t have a lot of professional sports teams, college sports are such a huge part of our culture, and a large part of our state population follows and cares about college sports," Allen-King said. "We ´ ve seen that it can affect the mental health of student-athletes who are getting threatened and harassed because people are losing cash since of their performance throughout video games.


Daniel Durkin, an associate professor of social work who is likewise among the center ´ s founding members, said raising awareness of sports gambling ´ s frequency on college campuses will be a main goal.


"Part of the concern right now is everyone ´ s simply enjoying," Durkin said. "Look at the ads; gambling ´ s fun. Everybody ´ s doing it. The severity of the issues has not really concern the yet, however it ´ s just a matter of time."


This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and dispersed through a partnership with The Associated Press.