Senator Blumenthal Letter to Colleges and Universities
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RICHARD BLUMENTHAL
CONNECTICUT
COMMITTEES:
AGING
ARMED SERVICES
HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
1
JUDICIARY
VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
United States Senate
Dear Academic Administrator:
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
March 27, 2023
706 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20510
(202) 224-2823
FAX: (202) 224-9673
90 STATE HOUSE SQUARE, TENTH FLOOR
HARTFORD, CT 06103
(860) 258-6940
FAX: (860) 258-6958
As the nation’s interest peaks in the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournaments, I write regarding sports betting companies’ efforts to partner with universities to promote sports wagering on college campuses. According to media reports, major universities have entered into lucrative contracts with casinos and sportsbooks to encourage students to gamble on sports – raising well-founded fears about an activity that is known to be addictive.
915 LAFAYETTE BOULEVARD, SUITE 304 BRIDGEPORT, CT 06604
(203) 330-0598
FAX: (203) 330-0608 http://blumenthal.senate.gov
Since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing states to legalize sports betting, we have seen massive growth in the popularity of online gambling. According to data from U.S Integrity, a sports wagering integrity service, betting on major college conference sports has become an $11 billion-dollar industry with last year’s College Football Playoff drawing $500 million in bets alone.¹ This year, 68 million Americans planned to wager $15.5 billion on the 2023 NCAA March Madness tournaments. The opportunity for lucrative deals has caused some casinos and sportsbooks to target universities, despite the very real harm gambling poses to students, many under the age to legally gamble.
Universities, and their athletic departments, have a duty first and foremost to protect student health. Certain factors – such as their age, stress, and past substance abuse or depression histories – make students especially vulnerable to gambling addiction. Experts have said that it can be difficult for young people to recognize their inability to gamble responsibly, so it is deeply concerning that universities are willing to partner with sports betting companies.³
1
Amanda Christovich, “Learfield, U.S. Integrity Form College Sports Betting Watchdog,” Front Office Sports (New York, NY), January 11, 2022, https://frontofficesports.com/learfield-u-s-integrity-form-college-sports-bettingwatchdog/.
2 “Wager on March Madness,” American Gaming Association, last modified March 12, 2023, https://www.americangaming.org/new/68-million-americans-to-wager-on-march-madness/.
³ Anna Betts et al., “How Colleges and Sports-Betting Companies ‘Caesarized’ Campus Life,” The New York Times (New York, NY), November 21, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/20/business/caesars-sports-bettinguniversities-colleges.html.
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