Sports betting has become a problem with college students, helping them create a gambling addiction. According to a meta-analysis powered by professors at the University of Buffalo, one out of 10 college students’ gambles. These scores are higher than 2-5% of the people that are estimated to have a gambling addiction in the U.S.
The National College Athletic Association released a survey of 3527 Americans between the ages of 18-22-mostly college students-shows that sports betting is becoming more common, 60% of the people in the survey have placed a bet on sports and 4% place bets daily. About 6% said they lost up to $500 in one day.
The most common way people bet is through apps on our mobile device. Apps like Prize Picks, Underdog, and DraftKings make it incredibly easy to put money in an account and place a bet. The great gambling houses allow a student to bet on any sport and possibly win big depending on how many picks he/she plays and how much money bet.
These apps provide gamblers with advertisements across the web, including commercials with famous celebrities to keep people hooked on betting. According to Ispot.tv, which tracks advertising, shows that betting sites together have spent 305 billion dollars on tv commercials, a staggering sum of money.
“Because of the way advertising works these days, even if you are trying to avoid it, you are going to be served up more options and opportunities re engage in that behavior than if you were someone who never engaged in that behavior in the first place,” says James Sherer, who serves on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force on addiction. “The second you really start to struggle you are set for continued issues down the line.”
It’s hard to get over an addiction especially when you can’t ever really escape it, but you can find help, ranging from group sessions or to meetings one on one with a psychiatrist. Just remember you are not alone.
