“Yo, bro. Do you have any locks for tonight’s game?” “Do you like Kamara over or under?” “Yeah, that could hit…” These words are heard across campus on a regular basis, encapsulating how sports betting has sadly taken over daily routines. The rise of sports betting over the past few years, especially on daily fantasy apps like PrizePicks, has been immense. Although these apps are supposedly 18+, there are many loopholes students can use to access the platforms, such as using their parents’ information or playing on sites where verification is less stringent. The easy accessibility is also part of the appeal: users can simply select “over or under” on a statistical category for most players in practically any sport.
Social media has become a major influence on how people choose their bets. Many influencers and companies advertise themselves as experts in the gambling field, flaunting their monetary gains to convince audiences to buy their betting programs.
A few anonymous Loyola students discussed how sports betting has become part of their daily sports viewing experiences. “I like betting on my favorite players and teams to perform well, and if it happens, it just makes the win that much better,” said one Cub. “At first, it started as a hobby. However, I think that it can be a problem if it becomes an addiction,” remarked an unnamed senior. “A year ago, I found myself watching random sporting events just to bet on them because my guy on Twitter told me to, which lowered my productivity in school and socially.”
There are a wide range of ways students bet on sports, some more often than others. However, it’s especially difficult for students to pass on betting altogether due to peer influence and the pervasiveness of sports gambling content online. Sports betting is not only on the rise at Loyola but also in high schools across the nation. In many states where the legal gambling age is 21, the NCAA conducted a survey that found 58% of boys had placed at least one wager in the last year. We shouldn’t expect this trend to decline any time soon, with daily fantasy apps and software targeting younger audiences through commercials and social media.
