Ole Miss Announces College Gambling Center As Concerns Rise Over

The University of Mississippi on Monday announced the upcoming launch of its brand-new Center on Collegiate Gambling, which scientists explain as the "first of its kind in the nation" amidst increasing national issue about wagering 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 developed to study the "increased dangers" for university student and student professional athletes caused by the quick development of legalized sports betting and online gambling, its founders said. Researchers stated the center will now start hiring personnel.


IHL ´ s approval of the center follows the release of survey results by University of Mississippi scientists revealing that 39% of Mississippi university student bet in a variety of formats in the past year. Of those who engaged in sports betting, 6% of Mississippi university student satisfied criteria for problem gambling as specified by the American Psychiatric Association.


"We really believe 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, said in a press release. "And so, we ´ re trying to deal with our legislators as they debate policy modification around gaming in the state."


Commercial sports wagering was effectively prohibited with a couple of exceptions until 2018, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 1992 prohibition. Mississippi enables sports wagering now, but only inside casinos.


After the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court choice, sports gambling business released a full-court press lobbying campaign to bring sports wagering to 10s of countless 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 lawmakers, including those in Mississippi.


But Mississippi has actually remained among the few holdout states, largely due to fears that legalization might harm the bottom line of the state ´ s gambling establishments and increase the occurrence of gambling dependency. That hasn ´ t stopped a thriving black market from taking hold in the state.


In 2024, prohibited online betting in Mississippi made up about 5% of the national unlawful market, which is about $3 billion in illegal bets in Mississippi, supporters said that year. Supporters of legalization say people will position online sports wagers regardless of whether the practice is legal, so the state should control and tax it.


The state House has actually voted, for the 3rd year in a row, to sports betting throughout the continuous 2026 legislative session. But Senate leaders have actually stated they plan to let the procedure pass away once again.


Nevertheless, college schools have ended up being hubs of activity for sports wagering and, increasingly, betting dependency. This has triggered require research study into mobile sports wagering ´ s growth and influence on young people. The brand-new center will intend to produce such research study, which its creators say is doing not have without a national research center in the U.S. devoted solely to the study of collegiate betting.


The scholastic research will focus on university student betting habits ranging from card video games to proposal betting and forecast markets. The center will likewise promote "evidence-based policies and programs to avoid damage," including training therapists to assist students having problem with gambling.


Eight University of Mississippi therapists have actually currently received the accreditation to much better equip them to determine gambling dependency in students, the scientists stated.


The rise of collegiate gambling has also caused increased dangers directed at athletes, whose performance is now closely tracked by bettors.


"In a state like Mississippi where we put on ´ t have a lot of expert sports groups, college sports are such a big part of our culture, and a large part of our state population follows and appreciates college sports," Allen-King stated. "We ´ ve seen that it can impact the psychological health of student-athletes who are getting threatened and bothered due to the fact that individuals are losing cash since of their efficiency throughout games.


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


"Part of the issue today is everyone ´ s just having a great time," Durkin stated. "Look at the ads; betting ´ s enjoyable. Everybody ´ s doing it. The severity of the issues has not truly come 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 partnership with The Associated Press.