Campus Gambling in the US Taken Up by Congressional Committee

The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development discussed problem gambling on campuses during its working session on Veterans Day. The committee, which met about a week after the elections, took up this issue, which it said has grown significantly over the past decade, in a session lasting roughly two hours at the Rayburn House Office Building.

Committee Vice Chair Michael Baumgartner stressed that reducing rates of problem gambling among university students should be the industry's top priority. Baumgartner said a undergraduate student survey published last month found that 31 percent of male students and 25 percent of female students knew someone who had experienced financial hardship or academic consequences due to online betting losses. According to the survey, students who bet online were 10 percent more likely to report struggling to cover basic expenses such as medication, transportation, and housing than students who never bet.

Three witnesses testified at the hearing. Cindy Clouner of Ohio State University and Dr. Lindsey Mortenson of the University of Michigan study mental health treatment and recovery from addiction. Dr. Daniel Durkin of the University of Mississippi described how betting harms student athletes and the integrity of college sports. Durkin said that pressures, such as a teammate asking an athlete to miss a free throw if a roommate had a gambling problem, create a constant risk.

Jordan Maynard, chair of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, also spoke at the hearing. Maynard, the commission's only regulator, said the state has banned prop bets on college athletes. NCAA President and former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker continues to call for a nationwide ban on prop bets in college sports. It was noted that Baker spoke about sports betting at a Senate hearing in 2024. Baker is scheduled to speak next month at the National State Gaming Legislative Council winter meeting in Savannah, Georgia.