NCAA Survey Finds College Students Extensively Engage in Sports Betting
The NCAA, a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics, has conducted a survey to present the distribution of wagering habits among different adult groups. The organization has recently released the results showing that young adults more often engage in betting than other groups, particularly those included in college campuses or minority communities, as ESPN reports.
Survey Findings:
The survey has found that 58% of the polled have engaged in at least one sports betting activity. Out of all the students living in a campus and responding to the survey, 67% place bets on regular basis, while 41% of the student betting population have wagered on their school’s team. For the same purpose, 35% of these students used a student bookmaker to place a wager.
Demographics:
According to the demographics breakdown, the highest percentage of 68% of Black or African American respondents have been involved in wagering activities, followed by Hispanic or Latino with 63%, Asian with 55%, and white or Caucasian bettors reportedly representing 54% of the polled demographics.
Establishing Baseline:
As the source reports, NCAA president Charlie Baker commissioned the study ”to establish a baseline of sports betting activity in the new gambling landscape in the U.S,” as such landscape has significantly changed over the past few years. At the moment, there are 33 states and the District of Columbia with legal betting markets, with several more states expecting the launch of legalized wagering operations still this year.
The survey reportedly found that the level of engagement in wagering operations in states with legal markets was almost the same as that of the states where sports betting was not allowed by law.
Announcing the survey results, Baker said: “We needed a new baseline so we can better understand what student-athletes are experiencing on their campuses and among their peers so we can best help them deal with the potentially disruptive dynamic of legal sports betting. Sports betting has increased interest in sports of all kinds, including college sports, which is great for our fans, but the NCAA and everyone from coaches to athletics department staff and college presidents must better understand what impact sports betting may have on student-athletes.”
Survey Focus:
ESPN reports that the survey was conducted by market research company Opinion Diagnostics on behalf of NCAA from April 18-23. The survey was focused on adults aged from 18-22 living in the United States. The number of responses was 3,527, with almost half of the respondents studying at institutions located in the U.S. The result showed that the respondents mostly placed a $10-$20 wager, with 79% of respondents giving $1-$50 per wager and 10% usually risking more than $100 per bet. The 10% figure reportedly compares to the 5% level for the general population.
16% of Risky Engagements:
Also, the survey central age group was found to mostly wager on NFL and NBA, followed by college basketball and college football. The NCAA survey determined risky behavior to include betting daily or few times a week, betting $50 or more, or losing more than $500 on a single bet. The findings showed that 16% of young adults had engaged in at least one of these risky behaviors.
Taking into account the extensive development of regulated sports betting markets, the next NCAA survey is expected in forthcoming months.