Editor’s Note: If you or anyone else struggles with a gambling addiction, call 1-800-GAMBLER, text “GAMBLER” to 833234 or visit AreYouReallyWinning.org.

If you went to the casino as much as some people bet on sports, people would think you have a problem.

During March Madness, Legal Sports Report tracked over $1.8 billion traded on Kalshi, a popular gambling site that allows users to bet on everything from sports to elections. For comparison, $1.8 billion can pay for a year of housing and tuition for all 16,078 NIU students four times over. The tournament brought record-breaking numbers to Kalshi, surpassing their volume for the 2024 presidential election and Super Bowl LX.

In a single month, Kalshi nearly matched the Illinois Lottery’s $2 billion sales in 2026, which generated $430 million in revenue for the State of Illinois.

Sports gambling can lead to addictions, just like casinos.

While NIU’s gambling restrictions apply only to illegal gambling on university property, Illinois has been vocal on its disapproval of many sites not approved by the Illinois Gambling Board (IGB). The IGB has sent cease-and-desist letters to markets like Kalshi, Robinhood, Crypto.com and others over their non-approved sports gambling offerings. 

The IGB believes these companies are violating the Illinois Sports Wagering Act, 230 ILCS 45. 

This act establishes what constitutes legal and regulated sports betting, creates a system for the state to generate revenue from the market and limits the types of predictions that can be placed on Illinois college sports. In Illinois, only match outcomes can be gambled on for college athletics, not individual stats.

Illinois and other states have struggled to reduce the growing popularity of prediction markets and online gambling platforms, in part due to federal and commercial support for these sites.

Indiana University Associate Professor John Holden, an expert on sports gambling and legislation, shared his thoughts on the matter. 

“I think one of the biggest failures of the legalized market generally has been that states have not directed a lot of money towards problem gambling research. And we know that sports betting has taxed those resources without sort of filling the coffers necessary to deal with that,” Holden said.

Superseding state level regulation with federal level regulation makes it difficult for states to track individuals with addiction and eliminates a potential source of revenue. In Illinois, revenue generated fromthe lottery system is used to amass funds for the school system, homelessness, veterans, gambling addiction research and the free 1-800-GAMBLER hotline for gambling addiction.

In some ways, an addiction to sports gambling and prediction markets is worse than traditional gambling addictions due to the lack of strong regulation regarding access to gambling.

“The biggest change (with sports betting) was we had a Supreme Court case in 2018 that struck down a federal law that effectively restricted sports betting to Nevada,” Holden said. “We already had a softening of societal views towards gambling. We had daily fantasy sports out there that looked a lot like gambling to people. So, attitudes already changed a lot.”

Online sports gambling has become deeply embedded in college culture. The percentage of people under 30 engaging in online sports betting has increased from 7% to 17% since 2022, according to the Pew Research Center.

Many people view sports gambling as a way to be social and bring their friend group together. Junior finance major Jordan Runnion explained how his friend group interacts with online prediction markets and sports gambling.

“Part of (sports gambling) is a social thing,” Runnion said. “Sometimes when I talk to people about basketball, the first thing they bring up is sports gambling. And, you know, part of me is like, can I just enjoy the game?”

In all of sports, the Chicago Blackhawks were the first North American sports team to partner with a prediction market. The Blackhawks and National Hockey League partnered with Kalshi for the Blackhawks’ upcoming centennial season, allowing Kalshi signs and advertising at the United Center, as well as Kalshi’s use of the Blackhawks’ logos.

“I think (sports gambling) should be legal, but in the sense that smoking is legal where there’s heavy restrictions on advertising stuff for it,” Runnion said. “My biggest problem with sports gambling is how it’s just been co-opted with the sport.”

Outside of sports gambling, Kalshi has expanded into politics by partnering with CNBC, CNN and Fox News to provide prediction data, further spreading its cultural reach.

Traditional gambling advertisements are often regulated for individuals under 18 years old, especially in Illinois. For someone attempting to beat a gambling addiction, the name and reminder may be difficult to avoid.

A person with an addiction trying to avoid reminders would need to avoid watching sports and the news. Kalshi allows users to wager money on outcomes such as oil prices, the next war or whether the U.S. government will confirm the existence of aliens within the next year.

Someone starting on Kalshi to gamble on sports could easily transfer their addiction to the other predictions if there are no sports that day or week, making an addiction easier to slip into.

“I hate how everybody uses (Kalshi) as a source for the odds of something happening. Why would I trust a gambler’s opinion?” Runnion said.