Students can find themselves in serious financial problems and face long-term consequences as a result of gambling, said Tahira Hira, assistant vice provost for Extension and professor of human development and family studies.

“Some students have had to drop out of school,” she said. “And since they are often embarrassed about their gambling, there is a tendency to leave without explanation, which makes it difficult to have accurate accounts of the numbers who have been in this situation.”

Brad Lester, 21, junior in microbiology and religion at the University of Iowa, has a bookie and said he is probably addicted to gambling.

He said he has been involved in gambling since he was 16 years old and doesn’t know if he could quit if he wanted to.

“I’d like to think that I could, but I’ve been doing it for so long now that I honestly don’t know if I could or not,” he said.

Lester said he started gambling in high school by playing cards with a few of his buddies for fun.

“Back in high school, it was just $20 here, $20 there for a card game,” he said. “When I got to college, my horizons widened, and now there’s just more opportunities [to gamble].”

Hira said most people start out as social/recreational gamblers, and 5 to 10 percent of those cross the line and become problem gamblers.

In Iowa, gambling is widely accessible in forms such as the lottery, sports, poker, video games, casinos and horse racing.

Lester said he has been going to the casino boats in the Quad Cities since he was a sophomore in high school using fake identification. He also used his fake ID to get into casinos on Minnesota reservations.

He said he “hooked up” with his bookie one night when he and some friends were watching a game at a sports bar and “things just kind of fell into place.”

Lester said he now primarily bets on sports and places an average bet of $100 with his bookie on about three games each week. He estimated his weekly earnings at $250.

“Not to brag or anything,” he said, “but I usually don’t lose.”

Lester said the most he has ever lost at once is $500.

Hira has done research on student gambling and found it is indeed a problem at colleges and universities.

“It is important that campus administrators recognized that gambling, including sports gambling, is prevalent on campuses, and increasing numbers of students are getting involved in a variety of gambling activities,” she said.

Hira said many problem gamblers hide their addiction.

Lester agreed with Hira’s conclusions.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of [students on campus] that bet,” he said.

Lester said his brother, who is a statistics major at the U of I, “doesn’t really approve of my gambling.

“He doesn’t think it’s smart to be risking that kind of money,” Lester said. “But at the present time, I think I’m in control.”

Lester said his parents don’t know the extent of his gambling involvement. They were aware of him playing card games in high school, but he said they don’t know about his bookie or his sports betting.

“In high school, it wasn’t as expensive as it is now — not that it’s that much now,” he said.

Lester estimated his total winnings in high school at about $5,000, and since his freshman year in college, he said he has probably won $20,000-$30,000.

According to the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program’s Web site, problem gamblers come from many backgrounds. Problem gambling can affect people of every race, religion, age, socioeconomic status and education level.

Problem gamblers find it extremely difficult to stop gambling, according to the Web site, and when they can’t stop they may lose their money, jobs, families and even their lives.

“It’s kind of like smoking,” Lester said. “But right now I don’t see why I should quit because I’m winning.”

According to the Web site, some problem gamblers are easy to spot because they talk about betting all the time or continually look for ways to get gambling money.

Warning signs include being absent or late for work or school, shopping excessively or binge spending, having unexplained or new possessions and ignoring or being impatient with friends and family.

Many problem gamblers have a dual addiction, meaning they gamble, and they also have problems with alcohol or drugs.

Lester said he will keep gambling “as long as I’m still above water.”

“If I lose a lot of money and become a bum, then I’ll have to stop, and I’ll realize there’s a problem,” he said. “That could happen. Everyone thinks they’re invincible, but I know that I’m not. I guess I’ll just see what happens.”