Following a wave of college gambling-related arrests and scandals, Ole Miss is tackling the growing threat to college athletics head-on.
On Monday, Ole Miss announced the launch of the Center on Collegiate Gambling, a first-of-its-kind institution to study the heightened risks of gambling for student-athletes and the growth of legalized sports gambling.
According to ESPN, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees approved the project in February and allocated $700,000 per year to operating costs.
"We really think that this is an issue that affects Mississippi at large," said Hannah Allen-King, executive director of the university's William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing and assistant professor of public health. "And so, we're trying to work with our legislators as they debate policy change around gambling in the state."
Related: NCAA Launches ‘Draw the Line’ Campaign Spotlighting Impacts of Gambling on Athletes
In a survey of Ole Miss students, 39% admitted to gambling at least once in the past year despite the fact that digital sports betting is illegal in the state. Sports betting is permitted at in-person casinos. About 6% of students surveyed met the criteria for “problem with gambling as defined by the American Psychiatric Association.”
According to ABC News, the Center on Collegiate Gambling will aim to conduct research into mobile sports betting’s growth and impact on young adults — particularly college students. It will also study general gambling behaviors, ranging from card games to prediction markets and promote “evidence-based policies and programs to prevent harm.”
“In a state like Mississippi where we don’t have a lot of professional sports teams, college sports are such a big part of our culture, and a large part of our state population follows and cares about college sports,” Allen-King said. “We’ve seen that it can impact the mental health of student-athletes who are getting threatened and harassed because people are losing money because of their performance during games.
