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Sports betting has grown with college age bettors.
TCU Horned Frogs fans react before the College Football Playoff National Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs on Jan. 9. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP

A recent American Gaming Association study revealed an astonishing 39.2 million Americans have placed a traditional sports wager the last 12 months and that 85% of American adults are OK with legal sports betting in their states.

A more recent study conducted by Opinion Diagnostics and commissioned by NCAA president Charlie Baker revealed a downside of the mainstreaming and the widespread acceptance of legal sports betting. According to the report, a majority of those surveyed between the ages of 18 and 22 years old have placed a sports bet, whether they were of legal age to do so, or not, whether it is from a legal sports betting provider, or an unregulated, black-market bookmaker.

The results of the survey came from 3,527 respondents between the ages of 18 and 22. The poll was taken between April 18-25. Nearly half of those who took part in the survey, or 1,702, were attending universities. 

Goal of the survey

There is no discounting just how much a part of the overall pro sports viewing experience is interwoven with sports betting. Students, like adults have become inundated with sportsbook advertising that permeates every sports broadcast across television, radio, and social media. According to the survey, 80% of university aged respondents were swayed by sportsbook marketing.

The scope of that influence was just one of the goals of the NCAA sanctioned survey.

"We needed a new baseline so we can better understand what student-athletes are experiencing on their campuses and among their peers so we can best help them deal with the potentially disruptive dynamic of legal sports betting," said NCAA president Charlie Baker.

"Sports betting has increased interest in sports of all kinds, including college sports, which is great for our fans, but the NCAA and everyone from coaches to athletics department staff and college presidents must better understand what impact sports betting may have on student-athletes."

Lessons of the study

Despite sports betting being legal for those 21 years of age and older in most states, Opinion Diagnostics found that age restrictions aren't necessarily a deterrent to most between the ages for 18 and 22 in the U.S. One caveat necessary to mention is the fact that the NCAA, which sanctioned the survey, did include fantasy sports as part of their defined sports betting definition.

An estimated 58% of the 3,527 respondents have placed at least one sports bet and an astounding 71% of those respondents admit to being too young to legally bet in their states or happen to be living in a state that currently does not support a legal sports betting platform.

College student gambling came in much higher with 67% of those living on a college campus take part in sports betting, while 41% of those living on campus report having placed a bet on their own school's team and about 35% of those bettors use a student bookmaker, rather than a regulated, legal sportsbook operator.

Interestingly, 68% of Black or African American respondents admit to being sports bettors. Roughly 63% of Hispanic/Latino students engage in sports betting activity, 55% of Asian students between 18 and 22 years place sports bets, and 54% of Caucasians report having placed a sports betting in their lifetime.

Roughly 58% of respondents placed a sports wager once, or just a few times per year with only 4% admitting to placing a sports wager daily. Finally, 10% of those asked in the survey bet on a weekly basis.

Breakdown by bet type

College-aged students seemed to mirror the betting habits of other Americans who take part in the legal sports betting landscape in America ... and it isn't just men that are placing their sports bets. Roughly 51% of college-aged women polled admitted placing a sports wager.

The NFL, not college athletics was the most bet-on sport among the demographic, followed by professional basketball. College basketball and college football ranked third and fourth, respectively, on the list of most popular sports.

Just over 75% of respondents admitted that betting on a game would make it more likely they tune in for that game.

As far as the denomination college students spent on their sports betting, $10-$20 was the most common amount, while 79% of those surveyed said that they bet between $1-$50 per bet.

When it comes to avid gamblers in the 18- to 22-year-old category, the survey found that 16% of those respondents engaged in risky sports betting behavior. That means betting more than once per week, placing bets of $50 or more, or losing $500 in a single day.

Live betting was the most popular bet type among 18 to 22-year-olds, with 61% of respondents placing a live wager. Moneyline wagers were the next popular bet type, with 44% of student respondents taking part in that bet type. Totals was the next most popular at 40%, parlays at 38% and spreads at 36%.