A new University of Mississippi study shows gambling is widespread among college students, with sports betting emerging as one of the most common and riskiest activities despite being illegal in Mississippi.

The study, conducted by the William Magee Institute for Students Wellbeing, surveyed students from seven Mississippi universities and found that 39% reported gambling in the past year. Of those, 16% engaged in sports gambling. While that percentage was lower than lottery play (18%) and card betting (17%), sports betting carried greater risks with 10% of students who bet on sports being at moderate risk for problem gambling and 6% meeting the criteria for problem gaming as defined by the American Psychiatric Association.

“These betting activities are more prevalent among certain group

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