Sports Betting Boom Targets Colorado College Students, Researchers Warn
Ahead of Super Bowl LX, a University of Northern Colorado researcher warns that NFL-backed sports betting and prediction market apps are making it easier than ever for college-age students to gamble from their phones.
Koo Yul Kim, assistant professor of sport administration at UNC, has studied how betting platforms like FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics Sportsbook target young adults. "Sports betting advertisements have a substantially higher influence with the 18-22 age group than any other," according to UNC News research. "With that impact, we're also seeing a rise in problem gambling symptoms in that age bracket," Kim noted.
The global sports gambling market reached $102 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $265.5 billion by 2034, according to UNC News. By December 2025, 38 states, Puerto Rico, and D.C. had legalized sports betting. Approximately 36.9 million Americans engaged in online sports betting in 2025, with that number projected to reach 52 million by 2028.
A UNC student who asked to remain anonymous described his rapid slide into compulsive betting. "I wasn't betting much at first, and I was mainly doing it because my friends were too," he said. "It made games I normally wouldn't care about a little more exciting — I even made some money on a few of them. Now though, I feel like I'm missing out on potential money if I don't bet on every game."
Betting platforms achieve this pull using what Kim calls "aggressive strategies like risk-free bets or $1,000 bonus cash on your first bet" to "make getting involved as easy as possible and as non-intimidating as possible for the largest amount of people they can."
Kim's research found psychological targeting at work. Platforms identify "prevention-focused" users—those seeking to avoid losses—and target them with risk-free bets. "Promotion-focused" users get bonus offers instead, increasing the likelihood a first bet leads to repeated wagering.
DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesar's Sportsbook are official NFL partners, a credential that lends institutional legitimacy. Fanatics Sportsbook's "Bet on Kendall" campaign featuring Kendall Jenner exemplifies how platforms tap celebrity culture to reach new demographics, Kim said.
"Because people are being so bombarded with ads and marketing promotions for sports betting, I think we will see an escalation in harmful gambling-related behaviors and a more widespread normalization of betting among vulnerable audiences," Kim said. "It's an ethical concern that has to be addressed by the sports betting platforms before it gets out of hand."
But the threat isn't limited to traditional sports betting. Prediction market apps like Kalshi and Robin Hood allow wagering on nearly any event—weather, elections, and more. Unlike sports betting apps limited to 38 states plus D.C. and Puerto Rico, these platforms are regulated federally by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, making them legal nationwide.
"Pretty much anyone can access them anywhere," Kim said, warning they "will contribute to another explosion in popularity for sports betting, and soon."
Colorado gaming regulators do not publish age-stratified betting data, leaving the true scope of college-age gambling in the state unknown.
While the NFL recently banned prediction-market app advertisements during the Super Bowl, users can still place bets on sporting events through those platforms.