By Victoria Mastin

For many college students, watching sports no longer means just watching the score. With betting available from one’s phone, a touchdown, three-pointer or last-second field goal can determine whether money is won or lost.

Of 150 University of Louisville students surveyed in-person at Ekstrom Library and the Student Activities Center, 47 said they had placed a sports bet.

Of those bettors, 34 said they had bet more money than they originally planned. Glenn Sterner III, a researcher from the University of Kentucky studying gambling behavior, said gambling does not automatically become problematic.

“Not everybody that gambles is gonna end up having problems,” Sterner said. Instead, he said concern grows when gambling begins negatively affecting other areas of someone’s life.

The survey indicated both sides of what makes betting both attractive and risky. One respondent said gambling winnings helped pay for his tuition and Greek life dues.

On the other hand, another respondent reported losing $20,000 in a single day. 19 of the 47 sports bettors said they had placed another bet trying to break even after losing.

“It could also be that they have lost a lot of money, and so they’re trying to win it back,” Sterner said. “And so they see this as an opportunity to gain back some of that financial loss that they’ve experienced.”

Popular finance personality Dave Ramsey advised against chasing those losses. “Stop,” Ramsey said. “Don’t chase the loss and turn a bad decision into a bigger one.”

The survey also found a notable difference among students involved in Greek life. Of 34 Greek-affiliated respondents, 29 said they had placed some type of bet, and 47% specifically reported sports betting. Among non-Greek respondents, about 38% had placed any type of bet and 27% reported sports betting.

One fraternity member surveyed claimed everyone in his chapter of around 130 members gambled.

The survey cannot establish that Greek involvement causes gambling, but Sterner said gambling can become increasingly social. “You might be gambling with friends, you’re gambling more often, you’re gambling on more types of sites,” Sterner said.

Ramsey cautioned students against viewing sports knowledge as a reliable way to make money.

“Knowing sports doesn’t turn gambling into investing,” Ramsey said. “If sports betting were a reliable way to build wealth, the sportsbooks wouldn’t be making billions, the bettors would.”

Even students who do not bet are regularly exposed to it. Of all 150 students surveyed, 123 or 82% said they encounter gambling advertising every day. And yet, none of the 150 respondents said they were aware of U of L resources specifically addressing problems gambling.

As betting becomes easier to access and harder to avoid, the question on campus may no longer be whether students are gambling. It may be whether they know when and where to turn when the bets stop being just a game.

About the Survey: Victoria Mastin surveyed 150 University of Louisville students in person at Ekstrom Library and the Student Activities Center. Students were individually approached and asked to complete a survey about sports betting. The survey was not a random sample of U of L’s student population and should not be interpreted as representative of all U of L students. Of the respondents, 120 were men and 30 were women, meaning the sample disproportionately represented male students. Percentages concerning specific sports-betting behaviors are calculated from the 47 respondents who reported having placed a sports bet. Individual dollar amounts and experiences described by respondents were self-reported and were not independently verified.

Feature Photo by Adam Mouchrani / The Louisville Cardinal