Games like poker and Internet blackjack are becoming more and more popular on campus, and for some students, this attraction can become an addiciton.
Raymond is a former student from Sacramento City College. He chose not to continue his education after a summer filled with gambling winnings. "I won $30,000 in one summer," Raymond said. Raymond said he had all the money he needed, so he quit school and his job.
After winning regularly, Raymond thought he could gamble for a living. "I figured I was good enough at blackjack and roulette, that I could do it for a living," he said. Raymond ended up over $45,000 in debt after three years. Shortly after that he sought help, recently attending a Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
Raymond´s story is becoming all too familiar in today´s society. Gambling addiction is affecting more people each day and college students are more susceptible than other adults.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, 85 percent of the adult population has gambled at least once. A national study done this past summer by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania established that more than half of all college students surveyed admitted to gambling at least once a month.
A Harvard study found that 4.67 percent of young people have a gambling problem, citing that 42 percent of college students surveyed said they gamble primarily to make money.
Recent research has also shown that college students are more likely to develop a gambling addiction. Pathological gambling, as it is sometimes called, occurs in 1 to 2 percent of the adult population in the United States, while the rates climb to 4 to 8 percent for college students. Arnie Wexler, a recovering compulsive gambler, hasn´t placed a bet since 1968. Wexler runs a national compulsive gambling hotline and is considered a leading expert on the topic. Wexler said his hotline has received a considerable increase in calls from college aged gamblers and their parents. "Parents are calling because half of them are bailing out their kids," Wexler said. "Bailing them out is one of the worst things a parent can do," he added.
Wexler said a parent recently explained how a student stole $2,500 to gamble with.
Wexler knows the story all too well as he started gambling when he was 7 or 8-years old. By 14, he was gambling with a bookie and by 21, he was stealing to support his gambling addiction. Wexler eventually got help and is now returning the favor by helping others.
Wexler believes factors such as the current poker epidemic, the rise of online gambling, and lack of education has contributed to the rise of addiction among college students. The recent rise in blackjack and poker´s popularity has created a new trend of gamblers. According to the Pennsylvania study, weekly poker games among male high school and college students increased 84 percent from 2003 to 2004. The study also showed that 11 percent of that same group bet on card games at least once a week during the same stretch. That is up from 6 percent the previous year.
Poker is promoted heavily on TV, with shows such as ESPN´s World Series of Poker and the Travel Channel´s World Poker Tour leading the way. The popularity of poker has reached college students as many universities have hosted charity poker tournaments, including Sacramento State.