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 researchers describe as the "first of its kind in the country" in the middle of rising nationwide issue about betting on college 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 risks" for university student and student professional athletes triggered by the quick growth of legalized sports wagering and online gambling, its founders said. Researchers said the center will now begin employing staff.


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 participated in sports wagering, 6% of Mississippi college students satisfied requirements for problem gaming as specified by the American Psychiatric Association.


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


Commercial sports wagering was effectively prohibited with a few exceptions up until 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a 1992 restriction. Mississippi enables sports wagering now, but just inside gambling establishments.


After the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court choice, sports betting companies introduced a full-court press lobbying campaign to bring sports betting to 10s of millions of cellphones around the country, an effort reported to be the fastest growth of legalized gambling in American history. The business have actually poured money into lobbying state legislators, including those in Mississippi.


But Mississippi has stayed among the few holdout states, largely due to worries that legalization could harm the bottom line of the state ´ s casinos and increase the prevalence of betting dependency. That hasn ´ t stopped a thriving black market from taking hold in the state.


In 2024, unlawful online wagering in Mississippi comprised about 5% of the nationwide illegal market, which has to do with $3 billion in illegal bets in Mississippi, supporters said that year. Supporters of legalization say people will place online sports wagers regardless of whether the practice is legal, so the state ought to control and tax it.


The state House has actually voted, for the 3rd year in a row, to legalize mobile sports wagering during the ongoing 2026 legislative session. But Senate leaders have stated they prepare to let the procedure pass away once again.


Nevertheless, college campuses have ended up being centers of activity for sports wagering and, progressively, gambling addiction. This has actually prompted require research into mobile sports betting ´ s development and influence on young adults. The brand-new center will intend to produce such research, which its creators state is lacking without a national research center in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to the research study of collegiate gambling.


The academic research study will concentrate on college trainee gambling behaviors ranging from card games to proposition wagering and forecast markets. The center will also promote "evidence-based policies and programs to prevent damage," consisting of training counselors to assist students fighting with gaming.


Eight University of Mississippi counselors have already gotten the certification to better equip them to recognize gambling addiction in students, the scientists stated.


The rise of collegiate gaming has actually likewise led to increased threats directed at athletes, whose efficiency is now closely tracked by bettors.


"In a state like Mississippi where we wear ´ t have a lot of expert sports groups, college sports are such a big part of our culture, and a big part of our state population follows and cares about college sports," Allen-King said. "We ´ ve seen that it can impact the psychological health of student-athletes who are getting threatened and bothered since individuals are losing money since of their performance throughout video games.


Daniel Durkin, an associate teacher of social work who is also one of the center ´ s establishing members, said raising awareness of sports gambling ´ s prevalence on college campuses will be a main objective.


"Part of the problem today is everyone ´ s simply enjoying," Durkin said. "Take a look at the advertisements; betting ´ s fun. Everybody ´ s doing it. The severity of the problems has not truly concern the forefront yet, however it ´ s just a matter of time."


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