Digital wagering among college students has expanded faster than institutional responses, according to two new surveys by Inside Higher Ed.
Fifteen percent of undergraduates report participating in online sports betting, prediction-market trading, or other digital wagering since enrolling. The rate jumps to 25 percent for men and stands at 9 percent for women. Twelve percent of undergraduates age 25 and older have wagered online.
When asked about their institution's response, 45 percent of male undergraduates and 33 percent of female undergraduates at least somewhat agree digital wagering is a problem their institution is underresponding to. Four in 10 four-year students hold this view, as do three in 10 community college students.
About three in 10 men and a quarter of women say they know students who experienced financial distress or academic fallout from online wagering losses. Among students who have wagered online, 38 percent know peers who struggled due to losses, compared with 26 percent of nonwagering students.
Students who wagered online report higher rates of going without basic needs like medication or transportation. Sixty-six percent of wagering students report this hardship, versus 60 percent of nonwagering students. The overall share of students struggling to afford basics stands at roughly 60 percent.
The Inside Higher Ed/Generation Lab Student Voice survey included 5,034 undergraduates from 310 mostly public two- and four-year institutions. A parallel Inside Higher Ed/Hanover Research survey of 271 student success administrators found little institutional tracking or action. Fifty-six percent of administrators say their division does not view digital wagering as a high-priority problem. Only 11 percent consider it an escalating student mental health or financial safety crisis. Three percent report updates to financial literacy or orientation programming to address the issue.
Karen Weaver, adjunct assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, said institutions addressing digital wagering face substantial obstacles. She described a landscape of contradictory regulations and incentives, with some states designing tax structures around sports betting revenue to benefit public institutions while the NCAA continues to flag risks to student athletes and sports integrity.