Nevada: 20% of College Students Gamble with Financial Aid Funds

The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling released new statistics, revealing that roughly 20% of college students in the state use their financial aid funds to gamble. Many of these young people also experience gambling harm, Ted Hartwell, the council’s executive director, added.

According to Hartwell, approximately two-thirds of all college students bet on sports – a figure that is being further exacerbated by the growth of sports betting across the US. The growth of the wagering sector, however, also signifies growth in gambling-related problems.

As reported by the local news outlet KLAS, Saul Malek, a young man from Nevada who used to experience severe harm in his sophomore years, commented on the matter. Malek, now recovering from his addiction, reminisced about his own struggles with sports betting, saying that he had been addicted to betting since 2017.

Six months into it, Malek started feeling uneasy when he wasn’t playing. Gambling was always on his mind and he told himself that if he plays more, he is going to win big. Unfortunately, the opposite turned out to be true.

After a breakup with his girlfriend, the young man sought help. He has not wagered since 2019 and is now looking to help others. Unfortunately, overcoming problem gambling is a continuous journey that not everyone is able to follow through.

Schools Should Do More to Identify Gambling Harm

Hartwell reminded bettors that they should be prepared to lose the money they gamble. Because of that, he suggested that players should only use disposable income to wager. However, many teens use the money allocated to their education instead, which is a big problem.

The executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling added that more and more people are now calling gambling addiction hotlines. The number of calls has skyrocketed since the COVID-19 pandemic, signifying a rise in addiction rates in Nevada and the USA as a whole.

To make matters worse, only one in four colleges and universities have policies concerning gambling. Because of that, Hartwell suggested that gambling-related questions should be added to health forms, allowing learning establishments to spot problem gambling early on.