An examination of gambling impacts at an upstate New York college

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine gambling participation at the State University of New York, Cortland, in upstate New York. Three hundred sixty-two students were involved in the study. More than 76 percent of the respondents reported that they had gambled at least once during the last school year and 5.6 percent of them had gambled weekly or more often, indicating that gambling participation was prevalent on this college campus. In addition, 77.6 percent of the respondents knew about Turning Stone Resort and Casino, the casino closest to the campus, and 38.7 percent of them had been there, suggesting that gambling has an impact on students' leisure lifestyle. Male students were more likely to gamble than female students. The primary motivations for gambling were to have fun and to make money. This study provides a better understanding of college students' gambling behavior in the leisure context.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 2008 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium

Citation

Zhang, Lin; Dong, Erwei; Stormann, Wayne. 2009. An examination of gambling impacts at an upstate New York college. In: Klenosky, David B.; Fisher, Cherie LeBlanc, eds. Proceedings of the 2008 Northeastern Recreation Research Symposium; 2008 March 30 - April 1; Bolton Landing, NY. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-42. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 237-242.