TLDR
- Ole Miss asked Mississippi lawmakers for $2 million a year to fund a new gambling research center and treatment clinic.
- The money would be split evenly between the Center on Collegiate Gambling and the planned Mississippi Gambling Clinic.
- Nearly 20 million Americans report problem gambling behavior, and Mississippi has no public funding for treatment.
- A 2025 survey found 40% of Mississippi undergraduates gambled in the past year, with students facing higher risk than adults.
- State lawmakers won’t decide on the funding request until early 2027, possibly as late as March.
The University of Mississippi has asked state lawmakers to set aside $2 million a year for a new gambling research center and treatment clinic. The request comes as online sports betting legislation remains stalled in the state for a third straight year.
The funding would support two programs. Half would go to the Center on Collegiate Gambling, which focuses on research, education, and policy work tied to student gambling. The other half would launch the Mississippi Gambling Clinic, a treatment center for the general public.
The center has stayed neutral on whether mobile sports betting should be legal in Mississippi. Its founders say the harm from gambling exists regardless of the law.
The Scale of the Problem
About 20 million Americans, or 8% of adults, reported at least one problem gambling behavior in the past year. The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates the social cost of gambling harm at $14 billion a year nationwide.
In Mississippi, about 4% of adults could meet the criteria for a gambling disorder. Only about one in 10 people with gambling problems seek treatment.
Mississippi is one of just nine states with no public funding for gambling treatment services. The state once sent $100,000 a year to a gambling council but cut that funding in 2018.
College Students at Higher Risk
A 2025 survey of Mississippi’s public universities found that 40% of undergraduates gambled in the past year. Most spent money on lottery tickets, scratch cards, and sports bets.
Researchers found gambling was more common among students who live off campus, play sports, join Greek life, and are white and male. Dr. Daniel Durkin, a founding member of the center, said students face higher risk partly because their brains are still developing.
The part of the brain tied to decision making and impulse control isn’t fully formed until the mid-20s, Durkin said. College is also often a student’s first time managing their own money away from home.
While 1 to 2% of the general population develops a severe gambling problem, that number rises to about 6% among students. Of students who bet on sports, nearly 16% met the criteria for moderate to severe problem gambling.
The center formed after a gambling expert spoke to a college athletics group three years ago. Durkin said he became alarmed for Ole Miss students and later teamed up with law professor Ronald Rychlak to bring the idea to university leaders.
If Mississippi legalizes online sports betting, Durkin hopes lawmakers set aside a share of the tax revenue for treatment and research. He pointed to Tennessee, which allotted 5% of gambling revenue to those efforts after legalizing betting.
Mississippi’s legislature won’t decide on the funding request until early 2027, possibly as late as March. Durkin said the center will keep seeking donors in the meantime, though it prefers not to take money from the gambling industry itself.
The center has also formed a campus task force to build a gambling response plan for Ole Miss. That report is headed to the university’s chancellor with recommendations.
Once funded, organizers hope to bring in staff who can treat severe gambling disorders and share that support with other Mississippi campuses through telehealth. Over time, they hope the clinic model can expand beyond students to serve the general public across the state.
