OPINION: Is online sports betting dangerous? Students discuss the millions of dollars being spent on legal gambling

OPINION: Is online sports betting dangerous? Students discuss the millions of dollars being spent on legal gambling

Article brief provided by
  • The Wall Street Journal,
April 7, 2022 9:00 PM
  • The Wall Street Journal,

According to the National Center for Responsible Gaming, approximately 1% of adults in the U.S. has a severe gambling problem. This is low compared with the 6% to 9% of young people and young adults who experience problems related to gambling.

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This addiction is growing among young people at an alarming rate. If we normalize gambling, we are only exposing the most vulnerable-those who don’t understand it is a problem-until it’s too late.

A college should be a safe space for students, not a place where they’re exposed to an activity that has been proven to be highly addictive. Television networks should restrict the times where they’re exposing young, impressionable audiences to gambling and make sure talk of it is eliminated during those times.