CHICAGO – Sports betting has exploded in popularity in the last few years. That’s following a 2018 United States Supreme Court decision that paved the way for it to become legal in 37 states, including Illinois.

In a Fox 32 special report, Kasey Chronis looks at how sports betting is becoming more and more popular with college students.

From the Bears to the Blackhawks to the Bulls, Chicago is a sports town like no other. That’s not even including any of its college teams.

No matter who is playing, any of these games are just as popular as the city’s deep-dish pizza.

That’s also true for some college students when it comes to betting on them.

“One hundred percent,” said Loyola University senior Ryan Hensley. “It’s ‘who did you bet on? What did you think? Is Patrick Mahomes going to throw for over 200 yards today?’”

Hensley said sports betting is very popular among college students, not only because it’s a social thing to do, but because some also see it as an easy way to make some quick cash.

“People bet on animals racing, pigs racing, overseas events, 3 a.m. bets. It’s insane,” Hensley said.

“Rent’s the big one. I have a lot of friends who have paid rent off a $20 bet, and they made $1,800-$1,900.”

Something he said they’re sure to post on their social media pages.

“One of the biggest warning signs and one of the biggest risk factors is winning early on,” said Anita Pindiur, executive director of the Way Back Inn, an addiction treatment facility in Maywood.

Pindiur is also a member of the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling.

“Often because it isn’t a drug. You can’t smell it. You can’t see it. Often even you as the person with a gambling use disorder can kind of play it off. ‘Oh, I’m just tired because I haven’t slept.’ And we don’t often look at it in terms of what’s really going on,” she said.

Since 2019, she said her center has seen about a 35% increase in its younger male patient population, those who are under 30-years-old and are mainly involved in sports betting.

“Gamblers Anonymous kind of reports the same kind of numbers. So, they’re reporting many younger people, even in their early 20s. So, 25 and under coming to meetings that they have never seen really before,” Pindiur said.

Pinduir said with the legalization of sports betting and the flood of gambling platforms and apps that followed, it became much easier for college students to do because the opportunity is always right at their fingertips.

It’s one reason why her outreach team is popping up more often on local college campuses.

“Some of the data suggests that up to 70% of college students will gamble,” Pindiur said.

According to a 2020 study, about 4% of Illinois residents aged 18 and older will develop a gambling problem, while 7% in the state are at risk.

Keeping track of just how many people need help with a gambling use disorder can be difficult. Part of the reason is because many college students place their sports bets online, thanks to Covid.

“A lot of kids don’t want to go to the casinos anymore. You have to actually interact and that’s not something our generation tends to like to do,” Hensley said.

Rob Minnick is a content creator for social media. He’s known online as Rob Odaat, which is short for “one day at a time.”

“When I was first starting my gambling, I didn’t know you could get addicted to it,” Minnick said.

Minnick grew up near Philadelphia and started gambling when he turned 18.

“I went to Georgetown in Washington, D.C. That’s where my gambling really took hold of me. It was kind of how I socialized on campus. It was where I viewed my ability to progress in life and succeed,” Minnick said.

He now runs his own website, creating content to share his own story of how he got addicted to, and stopped, sports gambling.

“It reached a point where I could spin a slot in my pocket on my phone and know based on the sound whether I won or lost money,” Minnick said.

“It’s interesting. In all of my classes, no matter what the topic is in sports, the engagement level is never as high as when we’re discussing sports gambling,” said Noah Henderson, director of sport management at Loyola University Chicago’s Quinlan School of Business.

Henderson sees firsthand why it’s so popular with college students.

“It makes a sporting event more enticing to watch when you have something on the line. Beyond that, I think a lot of people are overconfident in their abilities. I think most people think they know a lot about sports. If they’re a sports fan, so naturally you would think you have an edge over setting the betting lines or the odds for the game,” Henderson said.

Henderson said there’s so much interest in sports betting that some students are actively pursuing jobs in this field after they graduate and, starting next semester, he’s going to teach a class on it.

“We’re going to be focusing on moral and ethical implications, understanding the profit and loss of sports gambling companies, their expansion efforts,” Henderson said.

“Maybe not society, but lawmakers haven’t caught up with the fact that sports gambling is addictive by nature in the same way that alcohol or other controlled substances, like tobacco, are,” he added.

Henderson said there are more regulations on how you can access alcohol and tobacco than sports betting.

He also has concerns about some of the promotions some of these companies often offer to entice new customers.

“This is a similar adage to drug dealers where the first hit is free. You’re exposing someone for a minor loss,” Henderson said.

While the first round may be a minor loss, some college students who push their luck sport betting can graduate not only with student loans but also gambling debts.

“A lot of kids will actually have credit card accounts. They’ll bet on credit, which is a horrible idea,” Hensley said.

One reason why some students aren’t afraid to roll the dice on sports betting – they don’t see it as serious of a risk as drinking or drugs. Some also think there’s a difference between sports betting and sports gambling.

“Now with the way prop bets are made, micro betting as it’s called, which is first pitch, first out, first basket, these kinds of bets. Sports betting is making a conscious shift toward being a slot machine,” Minnick said.

Minnick said he got the wake-up call he needed to stop gambling two years ago. That’s when he put himself in debt for six months in just 12 hours.

“Not everyone that gambles gets addicted to it, but anyone can,” Minnick said.

In September, two federal lawmakers proposed new regulations on sports betting when they introduced the SAFE Bet Act.

It would require gambling companies to set limits on how much sports bettors can wager and how often they can place bets.

It would also require the 37 states that have legalized gambling to go through a new application process with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The American Gaming Association opposes this bill.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.