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II. Sports Related GamblingFurther analysis of the data in Table 2 was conducted regarding student athlete involvement in sports gambling. An in-depth analysis of sports-related gambling was conducted because most sports wagering is illegal and because of the public stance taken by the NCAA against sports-related gambling. A more detailed look appears below. Sports related gamblingCullen and Latessa's 1996 study established the benchmark of 25% of male athletes, specifically football and men's basketball student athletes, wager on college sports. Our research suggests a higher prevalence of gambling across all sports. Table 2 indicates the percentage of gambling on sports and in "sports pools" by male and female student athletes since attending college. By condensing variables, our analysis indicates sports-related gambling by student athletes, an activity banned by NCAA Bylaws, is higher than expected from previous research.
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Table 2Student Athlete Gambling Activities While Attending College |
Percentage Responding "Yes" |
||||||
Type of Gambling | All (n=758) | Male (n=460) | Female (n=298) | |||
% | n | % | n | % | n | |
Casino* | 45.5 | 345 | 48.5 | 223 | 40.6 | 121 |
Slot or other gambling machines | 40.5 | 307 | 42.8 | 197 | 36.6 | 109 |
Play cards for money* | 29.7 | 225 | 39.1 | 180 | 14.4 | 43 |
Bet on sports* | 28.5 | 216 | 37.0 | 170 | 15.1 | 45 |
Lottery or numbers | 26.5 | 201 | 27.8 | 128 | 24.2 | 72 |
Games of skill* | 25.7 | 195 | 37.0 | 170 | 8.1 | 24 |
NCAA basketball tournament or Super Bowl pool* | 22.6 | 171 | 30.0 | 138 | 11.1 | 33 |
Dice games* | 14.4 | 109 | 18.5 | 85 | 7.7 | 23 |
Bet on horses or other animals* | 11.1 | 84 | 13.5 | 62 | 7.4 | 22 |
Bingo | 9.0 | 68 | 8.0 | 37 | 10.1 | 30 |
World Wide Web | 0.9 | 7 | 0.9 | 4 | 1.0 | 3 |
All variables combined into a single variable indicating percentage who have gambled on any of these activities while in college.* | 71.9 | 545 | 80.0 | 368 | 59.1 | 176 |
* = Significant differences between male and female student athletes determined through ANOVA (p < .05)
Two variables ("have you bet on
sports" and "have you bet in an NCAA basketball tournament pool or picked Super
Bowl squares" for money) were combined into a single variable to obtain a more
accurate indication of the level of sports gambling among student athletes. The new
variable indicates that 34.9% of the entire sample of student athletes gambled on sports
since attending college. However, the level of sports-related gambling among male student
athletes is significantly higher than that of their female peers. Specifically, 45.5% of
male student athletes have gambled on sports since attending college, compared with only
18.5% of female student athletes (p< .001). It is worth noting that the combination of three variables ("gambling on sports," "gambling on sports pools," and "gambling on games of skill") into a single measure of sports-related gambling increases the percentage of student athletes who gamble on sports. The combination of these three variables reveals that 42.3% of all student athletes, and 56.1% of male student athletes have engaged in this definition of sports-related wagering. The percentage of women involved in sports- related wagering was slightly higher (20.5%).
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Table of Contents
| Executive Summary | Introduction
| Review of the Literature | Methodology
| Results |