University of Mississippi researchers are asking state lawmakers for $2 million a year to expand gambling research and treatment. The request is split evenly between a Center on Collegiate Gambling and clinics for problem gambling, and it comes as Mississippi’s debate over mobile sports betting remains stalled in the legislature.
According to Mississippi Today, the researchers met lawmakers in recent weeks to press the case for the new programs. The center would get $1 million to study student gambling and betting on collegiate sports, while another $1 million would fund treatment clinics for the general population in Mississippi. The home-base clinic would be at the University of Mississippi, with possible sites at Mississippi State University, Jackson State University and the University of Southern Mississippi.
The researchers told lawmakers their aim is to educate the public about responsible gambling and provide a safety net for people who develop problems. They also said they have not taken a position on whether mobile sports betting should be legalized.
The university launched the Center on Collegiate Gambling in March after approval by the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. In its announcement, Ole Miss described it as the nation’s first center dedicated to studying college gambling and betting on college sports, and said the work would support academic research, evidence-based policies and programs, student well-being and the integrity of collegiate athletics.
That March announcement also said the center would train counselors to help students with gambling-related problems. Eight University of Mississippi counselors have already received certification, and the university said it was partnering with Emory University to begin screening for gambling in campus health and counseling centers.
The case for funding rests on numbers that researchers say point to a widening problem. Mississippi Today cited figures from the National Council on Problem Gambling showing that about 20 million people, or 8% of U.S. adults, report at least one problematic gambling behavior several times in the past year, and that the social cost is estimated at $14 billion a year. The article said about 4% of adults in Mississippi are believed to meet the criteria for gambling disorder.
State survey data on college students also suggest the problem is present on campus. A 2025 survey of schools in the Institutions of Higher Learning found that about 40% of undergraduate students gambled in the past year, most often through lottery play, cards and sports betting. Among student sports bettors, about 16% met criteria for moderate or severe problem gambling.
Researchers also said nine out of 10 people with a gambling problem never receive treatment. They noted that Mississippi is one of only nine states with no public funding specifically designated for problem gambling services, after a $100,000 transfer to the Mississippi Council on Problem and Compulsive Gambling was discontinued in 2018.
The proposal lands in the middle of a broader fight over online wagering. The state House voted for the third year in a row to legalize mobile sports betting during the 2026 session, while Senate leaders said they planned to let the measure die again. House Speaker Jason White argues people will place online wagers regardless and that the state should regulate and tax them, while Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann says mobile betting could undermine casino investments and worsen the social costs of gambling.
In late June, Rep. Beth Luther Waldo said lawmakers had visited the university and that rising problem gambling among young people stood out as especially concerning. She wrote that online sports betting is illegal in Mississippi, but that many young people and adults still reach gambling opportunities through offshore websites and other online platforms.
The broader gambling economy is already significant. Mississippi Today reported that commercial casinos generated $2.43 billion in revenue in 2025 and about $287.9 million in direct gaming tax revenue, even as researchers seek new public money for prevention and treatment.
