Ole Miss Announces College Gambling Center As Concerns Rise Over
The University of Mississippi on Monday announced the upcoming launch of its new Center on Collegiate Gambling, which researchers refer to as the "first of its kind in the nation" in the middle of increasing nationwide concern about wagering 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 threats" for college students and trainee athletes triggered by the fast growth of legalized sports wagering and online gambling, its creators stated. Researchers said the center will now start working with personnel.
IHL ´ s approval of the center follows the release of survey outcomes by University of Mississippi researchers showing that 39% of Mississippi university student gambled in a range of formats in the past year. Of those who engaged in sports wagering, 6% of Mississippi university student satisfied criteria for problem gambling as defined by the American Psychiatric Association.
"We actually think that this is a problem that impacts Mississippi at large," Hannah Allen-King, executive director of the university ´ s William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing and assistant professor of public health, said in a news release. "Therefore, we ´ re trying to work with our lawmakers as they discuss policy modification around betting in the state."
Commercial sports wagering was effectively banned with a few exceptions until 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1992 prohibition. Mississippi allows sports wagering now, however just inside gambling establishments.
After the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, sports gambling companies launched a full-court press lobbying project to bring sports wagering to tens of millions of cellphones around the nation, an effort reported to be the fastest growth of legalized betting in American history. The business have put cash into lobbying state legislators, including those in Mississippi.
But Mississippi has actually remained among the few holdout states, mostly due to worries that legalization might hurt the bottom line of the state ´ s gambling establishments and increase the prevalence of gambling addiction. That hasn ´ t stopped a growing black market from taking hold in the state.
In 2024, prohibited online wagering in Mississippi made up about 5% of the nationwide unlawful market, which is about $3 billion in illegal bets in Mississippi, supporters stated that year. Supporters of legalization state individuals will place online sports wagers despite whether the practice is legal, so the state needs to regulate and tax it.
The state House has voted, for the third year in a row, to legalize mobile sports betting during the ongoing 2026 legal session. But Senate leaders have stated they prepare to let the step die again.
Nevertheless, college schools have actually ended up being hubs of activity for sports wagering and, increasingly, gambling addiction. This has prompted require research into mobile sports wagering ´ s development and effect on young grownups. The new center will intend to produce such research study, which its founders state is doing not have without a nationwide research study center in the U.S. solely to the research study of collegiate gambling.
The scholastic research study will concentrate on college trainee gambling behaviors ranging from card games to proposal wagering and prediction markets. The center will likewise promote "evidence-based policies and programs to avoid harm," consisting of training therapists to assist students dealing with gambling.
Eight University of Mississippi counselors have actually currently received the certification to better equip them to recognize gambling dependency in students, the researchers stated.
The increase of college gaming has also resulted in increased threats directed at athletes, whose efficiency is now carefully tracked by bettors.
"In a state like Mississippi where we don ´ t have a great deal of professional sports groups, college sports are such a big part of our culture, and a large part of our state population follows and appreciates college sports," Allen-King stated. "We ´ ve seen that it can affect the mental health of student-athletes who are getting threatened and pestered due to the fact that individuals are losing money since of their efficiency during video games.
Daniel Durkin, an associate teacher of social work who is also one of the center ´ s founding members, said raising awareness of sports betting ´ s frequency on college schools will be a central objective.
"Part of the issue right now is everyone ´ s simply enjoying," Durkin said. "Take a look at the advertisements; betting ´ s fun. Everybody ´ s doing it. The severity of the issues has not actually pertain to the forefront yet, however it ´ s only a matter of time."
This story was initially published by Mississippi Today and dispersed through a partnership with The Associated Press.