Ole Miss Announces College Gambling Center As Concerns Rise Over
The University of Mississippi on Monday announced the upcoming launch of its new Center on Collegiate Gambling, which scientists refer to as the "first of its kind in the country" amidst increasing nationwide issue about banking 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 "increased dangers" for university student and student professional athletes brought on by the fast development of legalized sports betting and online gambling, its creators said. Researchers said 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 university student gambled in a variety of formats in the past year. Of those who engaged in sports betting, 6% of Mississippi college students met for problem gaming as defined by the American Psychiatric Association.
"We truly think that this is a problem that impacts Mississippi at big," Hannah Allen-King, executive director of the university ´ s William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing and assistant teacher of public health, stated in a news release. "Therefore, we ´ re attempting to work with our lawmakers as they dispute policy change around gambling in the state."
Commercial sports wagering was efficiently banned with a couple of exceptions till 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1992 restriction. Mississippi allows sports betting now, however only inside gambling establishments.
After the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, sports betting companies introduced a full-court press lobbying project to bring sports betting to 10s of millions of mobile phones around the nation, an effort reported to be the fastest expansion of legalized gaming in American history. The business have actually put money into lobbying state lawmakers, including those in Mississippi.
But Mississippi has actually remained one of the few holdout states, largely due to fears that legalization might damage the bottom line of the state ´ s casinos and increase the frequency of gambling addiction. That hasn ´ t stopped a flourishing black market from taking hold in the state.
In 2024, unlawful online betting in Mississippi comprised about 5% of the nationwide prohibited market, which is about $3 billion in unlawful bets in Mississippi, proponents said that year. Supporters of legalization say individuals will position online sports wagers regardless of whether the practice is legal, so the state should control and tax it.
The state House has voted, for the third year in a row, to legalize mobile sports betting throughout the ongoing 2026 legislative session. But Senate leaders have actually stated they plan to let the procedure die again.
Nevertheless, college campuses have actually become hubs of activity for sports betting and, significantly, betting addiction. This has triggered calls for research into mobile sports betting ´ s growth and influence on young grownups. The new center will intend to produce such research, which its creators state is doing not have without a nationwide proving ground in the U.S. devoted exclusively to the study of collegiate gambling.
The academic research study will concentrate on university student gambling behaviors varying from card games to proposal betting and prediction markets. The center will also promote "evidence-based policies and programs to avoid harm," including training therapists to assist students fighting with gaming.
Eight University of Mississippi counselors have actually currently gotten the accreditation to much better equip them to identify gambling dependency in students, the researchers stated.
The rise of college gaming has also caused increased hazards directed at athletes, whose efficiency is now carefully tracked by bettors.
"In a state like Mississippi where we don ´ t have a great deal of professional sports teams, 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 stated. "We ´ ve seen that it can impact the mental health of student-athletes who are getting threatened and bugged due to the fact that people are losing cash since of their performance during games.
Daniel Durkin, an associate teacher of social work who is also among the center ´ s establishing members, stated raising awareness of sports gambling ´ s occurrence on college campuses will be a main goal.
"Part of the issue today is everybody ´ s simply having a great time," Durkin said. "Take a look at the advertisements; betting ´ s enjoyable. Everybody ´ s doing it. The seriousness of the concerns has not truly pertain to the leading edge yet, but it ´ s only a matter of time."
This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and distributed through a collaboration with The Associated Press.
