1 of 1

The preachers who railed against smoking, drinking, and gambling a couple of generations back may have had it right after all.

Poker is the latest craze on college campuses, as 50.4 percent of male college students reported gambling on cards at least once a month.

"At the college and university level, poker is pretty much the hottest thing going," says Mike Edwards of absolutepoker.com.

One Lehigh University student recently ran up over $5,000 in gambling debts, and then robbed an Allentown, Pennsylvania, bank to pay for it. Colleges have been slow to deal with the problems generated by the growth in gambling, particularly poker. "The vast majority of schools we talk to have no formal or informal policy regarding gambling," says Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling.

Gambling numbers (from the Annenberg Public Policy Center):

1. American men aged 14-22 who said they gambled once a month rose 20 percent from 2004-2005.
2. 2.9 million Americans between the ages of 14-22 gamble on cards at least once a week.
3. 50.4 percent of male college students gamble on cards at least once a month.
4. 26.6 percent of female college students gamble on cards at least once a month.
5. Internet gambling generated $3.1 billion in revenue in 2001.
6. Internet gambling generated an estimated $12 billion in 2005.

—from The Christian Science Monitor

Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
Click here for reprint information onLeadership Journal.

 1 of 1

share this page

				Try an Issue of Leadership Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Leadership coming, honor your invoice for just $22.00 and receive three more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Leadership as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for Leadership's e-mail newsletter, Leadership Weekly. You'll receive illustrations, resources, practical advice, and a devotional for the leader's soul every week!    RSS Feed   RSS Help