University at Albany research found that the share of students taking part in some form of gambling rose from 45% to 60% while data were being collected. Among students who gambled, 10% met the criteria for problem gambling, and 40% of that group said they had used financial-aid funds to support their gambling.
Jessica Martin, the UAlbany researcher, said the use of aid intended for students’ education was a sign that gambling had become a serious issue for some with limited money to spare. She also cautioned that the lack of federal funding for problem-gambling research makes it difficult to establish how much betting apps have contributed to an increase in harmful gambling.
A spring 2024 survey by UAlbany’s Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research found that 46% of students had gambled in the previous year, while 10% of those who gambled scored at risk or at higher risk for problem gambling. The two measures are not directly comparable: Martin’s figures track participation during her data-collection period, while the centre’s survey covers gambling in the preceding year.
The university has built screening and intervention work around the issue. A 2022 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant supported a screening programme that included problem gambling, while a $4.8 million federal grant awarded in 2023 backed work on gambling alongside substance-use and mental-health concerns. In 2025, the centre received a further $40,000 from the National Council on Problem Gambling for its peer-based Mobilizing Campus Change project, which includes early screening and a student health-communication campaign.
UAlbany is also working with the New York Council on Problem Gambling and the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports on a campus initiative that will gather data on gambling behaviour and perceptions among people aged 18 to 24. Seven other colleges and universities were selected to participate, with the findings intended to inform prevention, treatment, harm-reduction and recovery services.
The Times Union described a betting environment in which sportsbook advertising aimed largely at young men has become pervasive and prediction-market apps, including Kalshi and Polymarket, have grown. Those platforms admit users aged 18 and over, while DraftKings and FanDuel require New York users to be at least 21. Gambling apps and betting speculation became a prominent part of sports coverage after New York legalised mobile sports wagering in 2022. As reported in August, New York has also expanded problem-gambling outreach as visits to its gambling-help site have risen.
New York recorded more than 7 million unique mobile sports-wagering accounts in the reported year. A majority of users in the more than 5 million accounts that supplied demographic information were aged 21 to 34. A February Siena Research Institute poll found that 52% of men aged 18 to 49 had an online sports-betting account, compared with 16% of women of all ages; 81% of men in that age group and 50% of women said they saw betting advertisements very or somewhat often.
National data show substantial sports-betting exposure among young adults, though it measures sports betting rather than all forms of gambling. An NCAA survey of 3,527 people aged 18 to 22 found that 58% had engaged in at least one sports-betting activity, rising to 67% among students living on campus. Sixteen percent had engaged in at least one risky gambling behaviour, and 6% reported losing more than $500 on sports betting in a single day.
Martin said students’ problem gambling almost always occurs in a social setting, and that they can overestimate the extent to which peers gamble, potentially influencing their own behaviour. UAlbany students also use apps for high-risk cryptocurrency and stock trading, underlining that sports betting sits within a wider culture of mobile financial speculation.
