Ole Miss Announces College Gambling Center As Concerns Rise Over
The University of Mississippi on Monday revealed the upcoming launch of its new Center on Collegiate Gambling, which scientists refer to as the "very first of its kind in the nation" amidst increasing national 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 developed to study the "increased risks" for university student and trainee professional athletes triggered by the rapid development of legalized sports wagering and online gambling, its creators stated. Researchers stated the center will now begin employing personnel.
IHL ´ s approval of the center follows the release of study results by University of Mississippi researchers revealing that 39% of Mississippi college students gambled in a variety of formats in the previous year. Of those who engaged in sports betting, 6% of Mississippi college trainees met criteria for issue gaming as specified by the American Psychiatric Association.
"We really believe that this is an issue that affects Mississippi at big," Hannah Allen-King, executive director of the university ´ s William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing and assistant professor of public health, said in a press release. "Therefore, we ´ re attempting to deal with our lawmakers as they debate policy modification around gambling in the state."
Commercial sports wagering was successfully prohibited with a couple of exceptions up until 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1992 prohibition. Mississippi enables sports wagering now, but just inside casinos.
After the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, sports betting business introduced a full-court press lobbying campaign to bring sports betting to 10s of millions of cellphones around the nation, an effort reported to be the fastest expansion of legalized gaming in American history. The companies have put money into lobbying state legislators, consisting of those in Mississippi.
But Mississippi has actually remained among the couple of holdout states, mostly due to worries that legalization might damage the bottom line of the state ´ s casinos and increase the frequency of gambling dependency. That hasn ´ t stopped a growing black market from taking hold in the state.
In 2024, unlawful online betting in Mississippi made up about 5% of the nationwide unlawful market, which is about $3 billion in prohibited bets in Mississippi, advocates said that year. Supporters of legalization state individuals will put online sports wagers despite whether the practice is legal, so the state ought to regulate and tax it.
The state House has voted, for the 3rd year in a row, to legalize mobile sports betting throughout the continuous 2026 legal session. But Senate leaders have actually stated they plan to let the measure die once again.
Nevertheless, college schools have actually become hubs of activity for sports wagering and, increasingly, gambling addiction. This has actually triggered calls for research into mobile sports betting ´ s growth and effect on young people. The new center will intend to produce such research study, which its creators state is lacking without a national proving ground in the U.S. devoted solely to the study of college betting.
The scholastic research will focus on university student gambling habits varying from card video games to proposition betting and prediction markets. The center will also promote "evidence-based policies and programs to prevent damage," including training counselors to help students struggling with gaming.
Eight University of Mississippi therapists have currently received the certification to much better equip them to recognize betting addiction in students, the scientists said.
The rise of has likewise resulted in increased dangers directed at professional athletes, whose efficiency is now closely tracked by gamblers.
"In a state like Mississippi where we don ´ t have a lot of expert sports groups, college sports are such a huge part of our culture, and a large part of our state population follows and appreciates college sports," Allen-King said. "We ´ ve seen that it can impact the psychological health of student-athletes who are getting threatened and pestered since individuals are losing money because of their performance during video games.
Daniel Durkin, an associate professor of social work who is also among the center ´ s establishing members, said raising awareness of sports betting ´ s frequency on college schools will be a central objective.
"Part of the problem today is everyone ´ s simply enjoying," Durkin stated. "Take a look at the ads; betting ´ s fun. Everybody ´ s doing it. The severity of the issues has not truly pertain to the forefront yet, however it ´ s just a matter of time."
This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and distributed through a collaboration with The Associated Press.