Gambling is being expanded all over the United States.  There is simply more gambling available in the form of brick and mortar casinos as well as online casinos.  Several states have introduced some new form of gambling in order to boost revenues.   This means that the nation’s college students are faced with several more gambling options than generations before.  Students no longer have to take a road trip to some other state for gambling action.  If their state hasn’t initiated some new form of gambling, then they can find thousands of online casinos on the Internet.

The Harvard Medical School’s Cambridge Health Alliance and the National Center for Responsible Gambling have joined forces in order to create a single task force dedicated to address problem gambling among college students.  The task force is working very closely with representatives from colleges across the nation.  Madalyn C. Eadline, director of Lehigh’s Office of Special Projects, for example represents Lehigh University.  Earlier this year a Lehigh freshman attempted to rob a bank in order to pay of gambling debts he had accumulated at online casinos.

The task force released a study called “A Call to Action” that highlighted some serious statistics about problem gambling among college students.  According to the study some 11 percent of students in United States colleges have serious gambling problems.  However the study also found that only 22 percent of colleges in nation have any sort of policy about gambling.  

As gambling becomes more prevalent both at online casinos and through state expansion, colleges should provide more guidance for their student body.