III. Gambling with Bookmakers and Other Organized Gambling Activities

Five variables were developed to evaluate involvement with organized gambling. The variables examined if student athletes had ever:

A) bet through a sports card (which is often referred to as a parlay card)

B) bet with a bookmaker

C) provided inside information about a team to aid a gambler or gambling interests

D) bet on a game in which they participated

E) accepted money to affect the outcome of a game

In addition to the individual items identified above, two summary variables were developed. The first summary variable measured whether student athletes bet with either a bookie or on a parlay card. The second summary variable measured items C, D, and E to see if the student athlete engaged in any activity that could affect the outcome of a game.

Table 4 provides the results for these seven variables by gender.

Gambling with bookmakers

Twenty-one student athletes indicated they gambled using a sports card, and 20 student athletes gambled through a bookmaker or agent. Male student athletes were much more likely to engage in each of these activities than female student athletes. However, female student athletes engaged in each type of behavior as well.

In creating the first summary variable, two variables ("have you ever bet with a bookie" and "have you ever bet on a sports card") were combined to create one new dichotomous variable. If the student athlete answered yes to either of these variables, they were defined as involved with bookmakers. This summary variable was considered a more accurate measure of bookmaking involvement because betting on sports through bookmakers or parlay cards is a form of wagering that is a common indicator of such activities. This new variable indicates that 4.9% of all student athletes report wagering with bookmakers either directly or by using parlay cards since attending college. Over 7% of male athletes engaged in these activities since attending college compared to 1.3% of their female peers.

Financial involvement with bookmaking

While not shown in Table 4, the mean amount wagered by student athletes who admitted gambling with either bookmakers or through sports cards was $57.25 per occurrence. The amount of money wagered in these activities on a monthly basis was slightly more than $225.

Gambling activities that may affect the outcome of a game

Providing inside information

Table 4 reveals that 21 student athletes, including 4.1% of male student athletes, provided inside information to someone so they could have an advantage when placing a bet. The student athletes who provided inside information did so an average of 3.6 times during the previous 12-month period, and 15 of the 21 respondents who provided inside information did so at least twice during the previous year.

Gambling on games in which the student athlete participates

Table 4 shows that ten student athletes bet on a game in which they participated since attending college. Our data shows that gambling on their own games is a repeated behavior for these ten student athletes. Student athletes bet an average of 5.60 times on games in which they participated in the last 12 months. Furthermore, 9 of the 10 student athletes wagered on their own games at least twice in the previous 12 months. It is not possible to determine whether these wagers were for or against their own team.

Point shaving

Three individuals indicated that they accepted money from someone for not playing well in a game. Two of the individuals were male and one individual was a female student athlete.

In creating the second summary variable, three variables ("have you ever provided inside information," "have you ever bet on a game in which you participated," and "have you ever received money from someone for not playing well in a game") were combined to create one new dichotomous variable. If the student athlete answered yes to any of these variables, they were considered to possibly be affecting the outcome of a game. This new variable indicates that 3.4% of all student athletes (and 5.2% of males) engaged in gambling related behaviors that could affect the outcome of their contests.