4A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ONLINE GAMBLING
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2005
bookie. For each ticket, the collector knocked $25 off his kit
before finally asking a friend for the remaining $300.
He used about $800 of excess financial aid to chip away at the bill before finally a
"He said if he found out I was betting again he would get the money back from me somehow," Anderson said. "That's the main reason I don't do it anymore. When I talk to him he still asks me if I'm betting."
Compounding the problem for students is the ease of placing bets online. Only a user name and a credit card are needed to make a deposit and get started. Nellie Mae, a foundation that runs loan programs for college students, conducted a survey of college students who applied for financial aid through its firm. The survey showed 65 percent of under-
Gambling CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A The hook
Matt Anderson Crystal Lake, Ill., senior
"I started betting $200 because that was the max they would allow. I just kept doing $200, $200,$200,and before I knew it I was down about $2,000."
Anderson compared his addiction to alcoholism and drug abuse. Although it didn't involve toxic chemicals that harmed him physically, the hook was as strong as anything else he could have abused.
He began placing bets with a bookie on campus whom he met
through a fraternity. After early winnings, Anderson thought he could earn a supplemental income to help pay his expenses at school. But betting soon became about more than money.
"Once I got going, I couldn't watch a Wednesday or Thursday night college football game without having something on the line," he said. "It was just ridiculous. Every NFL game had something on it, too."
A recent Harvard University medical
study showed that one out of every 20 college students surveyed was addicted to gambling. The study also determined that the same group had the highest rates of pathological and problem gambling. In addition, youth were introduced to gambling through sports more frequently than through any other method.
students from
Another study surveyed 1,700
students from six Midwestern colleges. Thirty-three percent of men and 15 percent of women said they gambled at least once per week. The study also found pathological and problem gambling rates were four to eight times higher for college students than the rest of the adult population.
Francis DeSalvo, director of Counseling and Psychological Services and assistant dean of students, said gambling addiction was a repetitive behavior that often masked a person's real problems. Most of the time, DeSalvo said, reducing stress and increasing self-esteem helped those who were fighting addiction.
"Gambling is different than alcohol or drugs," DeSalvo said. "Your body doesn't really need more and more and more of it. The issue is figuring out what that's all about."
Just point and click
During winter break of his freshman year, Anderson ran into serious trouble. He had lost badly on the bowl games and had no way to pay back his debt. Rather than stop betting, he bet more and more to try to dig out of the hole.
"I started betting $200 because that was the max they would allow," he said. "I just kept doing $200, $200, $200, and before I knew it I was down about $2,000."
Anderson was forced to make drastic lifestyle changes because of his "drug." He sold personal items, including DVDs, a Sony PlayStation and games. He gave blood once, and he contemplated pawning a Breitling watch that he bought for $2,400. He eventually resorted to other means of paying his debts. He collected or bought student tickets to KU men's basketball games against Arizona and Texas to give to his
graduate students have credit cards, 20 percent have four or more and the average balance is more than $2,200.
Hard to be responsible
Although many students get out of control at the computer, others say keep it in check. Liszt, Minn., senior, to keep minimum, per week on games. He within a pre-vent
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"I'm not going to do anything that will affect my life," Liszt said. "When you have to start cutting back on other things just so you can bet on a game that weekend, that's when you have a problem."
Efforts to stop Web sites
The FBI estimated that nearly $6 billion was wagered on the 2002 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament alone. Only $600 million was bet legally in Nevada — meaning the rest was gambled illegally, either online via offshore operations or through bookies.
He said the difference was being selective when choosing to bet. Betting just to bet is dangerous because you don't play the games with the
Law enforcement agencies in the United States have no authority to pursue most offshore online gambling sites. A simple Google search reveals that most of these sites operate in locales such as London, Aruba, Costa Rica, Curacao and even tiny Barbuda.
Whitney Watson, spokesman for the office of Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, said any gambling that occurs in Kansas and isn't sanctioned by the state is illegal, including online wagering. The state would have a difficult time trying to enforce domestic laws on foreign operations. In addition, a Kansas resident who won a large amount of money would have no legal standing if the sports book refused to pay up.
Legislation has been drafted over the past few years in an attempt to get a regulatory grip on the online gambling industry. In 1999, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., proposed the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act, which would amend the Wire Wager Act of 1961 to clearly include online gambling. The Wire Wager Act banned the use of telephones to place sports bets.
In 2001, a bill sponsored by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., made it to the floor of the Senate. Named the Amateur Sports Integrity Act, the bill would have supplemented the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act by banning all gambling on NCAA or other amateur athlet- i c events. The
Despite support from the NCAA and congressmen from both sides of the aisle, the bill failed. The Justice Department's concern with the language of the bill spelled doom because, under the proposed legislation, people who called in picks for office NCAA tournament pools would be safe while those who e-mailed their selections would be subject to arrest and jail time.
mous International Web site defines compulsive gambling as "an illness, progressive in its nature, which can never be cured, but can be arrested." It says most gamblers have low self-esteem and think of themselves as weak or "just plain no-good."
There is also a list called "20 questions" that can help a gambler decide if he has a problem. An issue that KU students face specifically is that there is currently no Lawrence chapter of GA. The closest chapters with weekly meetings are in Topeka, Overland Park and Leavenworth. A closer option for help is Counseling and Psychological Services.
Located in Waltham Student Health Center, CAPS offers counsel-
Student Health Cent CAPS offers counseling to KU students for a wide variety of issues. De-Salvo said the psychologists at Watkins rarely treated gambling addictions.
He said only one or two students received treatment last year for gambling. That was not enough patients to justify an ongoing program for problem gamblers, so the department treats patients on a case-by-case basis.
Anderson said he wished he could have stopped earlier, and he cautioned people who were contemplating making gambling part of their lives.
best chance of winning.
Liszt said he also avoided betting on games that involved his favorite teams, something that Anderson didn't do during the 2002 KU football season. The Jayhawks were in Lincoln, Neb. to play the Cornhuskers, and Kansas was a 48-point underdog with its third-string quarterback scheduled to start. Anderson put a sizable chunk of cash on Nebraska.
bill failed, largely due to Nevada lobbyists' claims it would take away states' rights and income.
The NCAA and legislators such as Brownback continue to fight gambling on amateur athletics, but no laws have been passed to regulate online gambling, and no proposed bill has made it as far as the Amateur Sports Integrity Act.
Help for students
DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM?
Has gambling affected your reputation?
Have you ever gambled to get money to pay debts or solve financial difficulties?
Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
Have arguments, disappointments or frustrations tempted you to gamble?
Have you had an urge to celebrate by gambling?
After the Jayhawks scored on the opening drive of the game, Anderson had to sweat all the way through the fourth quarter and won when Nebraska scored a late touchdown. Despite the win, the stress took its toll.
"It's a liability," he said. "If you win, you want to win more. If you lose, you want to win it back and keep playing more. It's so addictive that you're going to lose no matter how you come out of it financially."
When gamblers get out of control, curbing the addiction is often a tough proposition.
The first step, and often the biggest hurdle to recovery, is recognizing that a problem exists. The Gamblers Anony-
"I'm still nervous," Anderson said. "Those are the reasons I won't get started again."
Edited by Katie Lohrenz and Tricia Masenthin
More at www.gamblersanonymous.org/20questions.html