Colleges Often Turn a Blind Eye to Student Gambling Problems
Sometime last year, the University of Alabama got serious about raising awareness on campus of gambling addiction. For about a week, there were articles about the subject in the student paper and some talks on campus, Shannon Shorr, a business major, recalled.
After that, the campaign seemed to fade, Mr. Shorr said.
................... (NYT)
Kids in college have a lot more to worry about than studying for the calculus exam or which major to choose. Too many college students are taking a binge approach to everything including gambling.
They binge drink (well, they've always had). They binge eat. They binge spend and now some are binge gambling.
The funny thing about college is that was when I first learned how to gamble. Before I took a statistics course on blackjack card counting, I hated gambling. Even after I acquired an edge from this peculiar college course, I still adopted a negative view of the gaming industry.
I see the problems from gambling all the time. They prey on those with addictive propensities and rob them of their financial worth. Casinos wrap this distasteful behavior under the pretense of "entertainment". I can tell you right now, it's not fun to see the fish lose their rent money or money they were going to spend on clothes for their children.
I imagine it's worse for the majority of college students who pick up gambling. A little football betting or poker betting might seem harmless. Many students, I'm guessing over 95%, don't have the mental acuity and risk personality to succeed in gaming. Many will think they're smart enough to win in gambling, but that's just a disconnect with reality. The kids will lose a large portion of their young adult lives and for that, Universities should do something more.
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