NFHS launches course on sports betting risks

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has added a new online education course to its catalogue.

This month, the association debuted its sports betting course designed for students, parents, coaches and administrators to understand the risks and consequences associated with sports betting, the importance of competition integrity and overall prevention strategies.

“High school students are growing up in a sports culture where sports betting is highly visible, with commercials, sports odds and commentators picking teams to win,” the NFHS said in a news release April 23. “Our society, in fact, glorifies gambling and there’s a double-standard, in some cases, at higher levels of sports.

“The interscholastic sports scene is — and must— remain different. The tag line of the Sports Betting course is ‘It’s Not Worth the Bet,’ and the NFHS highly encourages leaders in our nation’s schools to take this course, and then arrange for all student-athletes in schools — middle schools and high schools — to also take this free course in which they will discover the potential dangers of making that first bet.”

According to the NFHS, with the rise in the overall sports betting industry since the Supreme Court decision in 2018 that legalized services for online and digital platforms, one of the effects has been an uptick in online sports gambling among high school students. A February survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the National Council on Problem Gambling revealed that 1 in 3 adults under age 45 placed a sports bet before the age of 21.

The NFHS also emphasized the legal consequences of sports betting by high school students, as breaking that law could result in a loss of high school eligibility.

“Sports betting can take a toll on an individual’s mental and emotional well-being, and if a person becomes too involved, it can become an obsession and lead to destructive behaviors,” the association continued. “And for high school students, becoming involved in sports betting could affect students’ performances in the classroom and on the court or field.

“Fortunately, education-based sports programs provide structure, supervision and trusted adult relationships that can help protect student-athletes from gambling-related behaviors.”

The NFHS Learning Center has created numerous online courses over the last 20 years, including courses on concussions, mental health, name/image/likeness (NIL), sudden cardiac arrest, implicit bias, protecting students from abuse, vaping and more.

More information on the sports betting course and the other courses in the NFHS catalogue can be found on the NFHS Learning Center website.