​

​

Gambling in any form, from slot machines to sports betting, can be an easy past time to get into. With the prospect of winning money and coming out ahead, gambling can also become addictive. College students perhaps trying to gain a little more money through gaming may find it difficult to quit, especially when find themselves in way over their heads.

​

According to a 2010 University of Oregon gambling survey in which 439 out of 450 college students responded to questions about their gambling experiences, lottery tickets were the most common form of gambling among them. According to the survey, 37 percent of students said that they had purchased lottery tickets regularly. Playing cards, pool or board games for money was the second most common form.​
 

In the same survey, the most common gambling problem students faced was trying to regain their losses. Thirteen percent of students said that they had to keep on betting in order to come out even or ahead. College students are certainly not the richest people out there and they deal with enough college debt as it is.​
 

According to cashcourse.org, a financial education resource for colleges, 80 percent of college students gamble but five percent claim have an actual gambling problem.​
 

The Kansas Responsible Gaming Alliance has published a list of warning signs that they say indicate a gambling problem. Aside from a person being too preoccupied with gambling on a regular bases, a person who only discusses wins without discussing losses, or hides their losses from family members and friends, may have a gambling addiction.​
 

The Kansas State Research and Extension (KSRE) website lists sports betting as a common form of gambling for college students particularly. For sports organizations, this only means more attention for their games.  ​
 

"The leagues may not admit this but I think they would eventually come around the idea that it increases the demand for their product," said Dr. Daniel Kuester, Ph.d., an economics professor at Kansas State. "If you look at the NFL ten years ago, they fought 'Fantasy Football' tooth and nail. They didn't want to have that allowed and now they've embraced it. They want you to go to their website to play Fantasy Football."​
 

Kuester also said that he did not think the negative social stigma behind gambling, traditionally the main reason why leagues opposed betting,  is as large as it used to be.  Otherwise, sports betting increases the demand for sports.​
 

Students commonly lack disposable income to begin with. For gambling addicted students, the KSRE says on its website that  not only is debt a risk they might face, the risk of losing their jobs if they do not seek help controlling their gambling habits is just as likely.​
 

Organizations like the Kansas Responsible Gaming Alliance offers counseling to individuals seeking help for their gambling addictions. ​
 

For those who wish to continue gambling but do so more responsibly,, cashcourse.org offers advice for recreational gambling so gamblers can get the most out of their experiences.​
 

Gambling could be a lot of fun. But chasing losses can turn a fun past time into a problem. And in the end, the old Las Vegas adage aptly applies, "The house always wins." The house also does not discriminate whose money it wins.