Ah, gambling. The snap of shuffling cards, the gentle tap of poker chips, the thrill of beating the point spread. These sensations are no strangers to college students as gaming is becoming an increasingly popular pastime.
A Harvard Medical School study found that 42 percent of college students gambled on sports.
Junior Brandon Gleich enjoys gambling occasionally. He plays Texas Hold’em, a popular form of poker, about twice a week.
For Gleich and most college-aged gamblers, gambling is a harmless and fun activity. College students can, however, develop serious gambling problems.
A University of Minnesota study found that about 3 percent of college students have a gambling problem. Students with a gambling problem bet money they can’t afford to lose, gamble to win back money they’ve lost and let gambling interfere with work or school.
“Problem gambling is a serious issue on college campuses across the nation and doesn’t often receive the attention it deserves,” said Dr. Jeffrey Marotta, a problem gambling expert for the state of Oregon. “It’s not terribly unusual for a student to drop out of college because of a gambling problem or have academic difficulties.”
Marotta said it can be more difficult to identify gambling problems among college students because they have easier access to credit than older adults and often don’t have some of the obligations, such as a family or a full-time job, that can reveal a gambling problem.
“(College students) often don’t get themselves in a very big hole,” Marotta said.
College students play a variety of games, from cards to video poker to the lottery. Online gambling has also emerged as a major new tool for students who like to wager.
Marotta said gambling becomes more common as access to it increases. Oregon has eight casinos, with another planned for Florence, along with video poker and a state-sponsored lottery.
One slot supervisor at Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City said he commonly sees college-age gamblers in the pit, where the blackjack, craps and roulette tables are located.
“Especially when they’re playing craps, it looks like they’re betting pretty good,” Paul Reedy said, adding that slots also attract college-aged gamblers.
Student problem gamblers often fit a profile, according to the Minnesota study. They tend to be men and are more likely to engage in risky behavior, such as drinking and using illegal drugs, than non-gamblers. They also tend to have relatively high disposable incomes.
Perhaps surprisingly, the study found that a student’s GPA and credit card debt load were unrelated to gambling problems.
Gambling is particularly prevalent among student-athletes. A University of Michigan study found that 72 percent of student-athletes gambled during college and 28 percent gambled on sports.