Communications and Media

Gambling is an issue that has been mostly associated with leisure in the contemporary society. In a University set up this perception is no different as students engaging in gambling activities within the school, in the casinos as well as on the internet. There is an increase in gambling among university students. This problem has grown over the last ten years. The purpose of this study is to establish the scope, causes and consequences of gambling. Gambling is therefore an issue that is affecting the most vulnerable and important population in the society and should be addressed. Exploring this issue is necessary in establishing possible solution for the involved authorities in helping students overcome and shun from this worrying behavior. The study will focus on various literatures in developing a clear picture of the problem at hand.

Literature Review
Gambling in colleges is a serious issue that researchers have invested in the recent past. Gambling poses serious problems to the gambler. Students engaged in gambling face various risks of health, academic, social and of course financial problems. As Joshua argues, students engage in gambling because of the schools have very little concern about it. In a research by Shaffer et al. (2005), 119 colleges in the

United States participated. Results revealed that, gambling is a commonplace among college students. Further it was identified that all schools had policies governing alcohol and substance abuse but amazingly only 22 percent (26 colleges) had policies concerning gambling. Joshua (2009) discloses that the policies are too weak to be able to dissuade students from gambling.

Consequently, Joshua writes that, the participation of celebrities in poker tournaments on ESPN and in other networks persuades them to engage in such. Movies such as  Casino Royale  by James Bond,  21  and  Rounders  depict glamorous lifestyles and are appealing to the younger generation.  Administrators in most cases are unaware of the situation or are arrogant of the effects of gambling on students  life. According to Jonathen (2005), some schools allow students to engage in poker tournaments within the school. Gambling is perceived as just any other leisure activity in school one of the reasons why it has been of little concern from administrators.

Despite the growing influence and participation of students in gambling, campaigns within the colleges and universities alongside strong policies can help in resolving this problem. Jonathen blames the internet, media and the society in playing a role in perpetuating this culture in the institutions of learning. Joshua (2005) warns that the problem is extent and is slowly crawling into high school students, which is devastating. The three articles used in this study all agree that the problem of gambling among university students is at an alarming rate and the school has very little concern if any in trying to resolve this issue.