The Drake group recently issued a sports gambling warning stating “A tidal wave of match-fixing, corruption, and gambling addiction is about to take place in intercollegiate athletics. We call upon higher education associations, athletic conferences, and national collegiate athletics governance organizations to take immediate action.”
Julie Sommer, executive director of the Drake Group Education Fund, who issued the warning, stopped by theGrio with Eboni K. Williams to further explain.
While the NCAA has strict rules prohibiting college athletes and football coaches from gambling on any college or professional sport sponsored by the NCAA, their recent survey shows that sports wagering activity is widespread on college campuses.
Sixty-seven percent of students living on campus are students who bet, 41 percent of college students who bet on sports have placed a bet on their school’s teams, and 35 percent have used a student bookmaker. Advertisements for apps like FanDuel and DraftKings also have a major influence on betting activity. Fifty-eight percent of students indicate they are more likely to bet after seeing those ads.
With the heavy advertising during games, partnerships, and even media companies like ESPN, some question if colleges and universities could be directly benefiting from their students who are signing up for various gambling apps.
Check out the full clip above and tune into “theGrio with Eboni K. Williams” at 6 p.m. ET every weeknight on theGrio cable channel.
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