Sports Betting: Risks & Ripple Effects Teach-Out

Drawing on their work in college athletics and gambling journalism, Karen Weaver and Brian Pempus discuss the risks of sports betting for students, athletes, and universities, along with ways to strengthen protections.

Takeaways: Emerging Issues for Higher Education

We have prepared a list of key points from the Emerging Issues for Higher Education interview for your reference:

1. College campuses sit at the center of the sports betting ecosystem. Online sports betting platforms explicitly target the 18–22 age range—the same population that includes undergraduate students and many college athletes. Campus life risks normalizing sports gambling through peer sharing, social media, and dorm-based conversations, making betting feel routine rather than risky. Because emerging adults are still developing cognitively, emotionally, and financially, they are especially vulnerable to impulsive betting and gambling-related harms.

2. Higher education institutions face growing conflicts of interest and ethical dilemmas. Universities and athletic conferences are increasingly entangled with gambling revenue streams. Media contracts depend on viewership that now includes bettors, not just fans, and some states redirect gambling tax revenue to fund college athletics or athlete compensation. These arrangements blur the line between protecting students and athletes and benefiting financially from betting-related engagement, creating ethical tensions for institutions charged with student wellbeing.

3. Journalism and marketing are blurred in “advertorial” content and can undermine consumer protections. Sports betting promotion is often disguised as journalism through “advertorial” content, betting-focused analysis, and sponsored commentary. Many media outlets and sports leagues maintain financial partnerships with sportsbooks, limiting critical reporting on gambling harms. This blurring of editorial and advertising makes it harder for audiences to distinguish information from promotion—and reinforces the idea that betting is a normal part of sports fandom.

4. Sports betting harms extend beyond the bettor to athletes and communities. Approximately half of online sports bettors experience moderate to severe gambling problems, and each person experiencing problem gambling affects an estimated six others through financial strain, emotional distress, and relationship conflict. Athletes increasingly bear the brunt of these harms: one in five bettors admits to verbally abusing players, often blaming individual performance for lost bets. Some states now allow regulators to ban bettors who threaten athletes, signaling a growing recognition of this risk.

5. New technologies and products introduce unresolved integrity and privacy risks. Prediction markets and novel betting platforms create regulatory gray zones, especially when athletes or team owners hold equity stakes in companies taking wagers on their own sports. At the same time, athlete performance data is routinely sold to betting companies, with limited ability for U.S. athletes to opt out—unlike the opt-in standards common in Europe. These developments raise serious concerns about consent, fairness, and long-term trust in collegiate and professional sports.

Reflection Questions

In your daily life, you may have one or more than one of the following roles. Think about the questions that we have posed here. How can you use the Emerging Issues for Higher Education interview to respond to these questions?

• Public health professionals:
  • How might your country’s higher education response to gambling harms differ if public health evidence, rather than revenue, guided policy decisions?
• Young adult casual bettors:
  • How do differences in regulation and advertising across countries shape what feels “normal” or risky about sports betting?
• High school or college athletics professional:
  • What early protections or education could reduce harm before students ever reach college athletics?
• Parent or guardian:
  • What warning signs or conversations feel most urgent now that betting content is embedded in everyday sports media?

Additional Resources

1. Gambling Harm: News, analysis, help, and resources related to problem gambling and addiction.
2. Trustees and Presidents: A Podcast for University Leaders on College Athletics