CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The significance of education is paramount. In democratic societies, education serves as a
powerful catalyst for transforming individuals' attitudes, skills, values, and interests. Education
permeates a person's life through various influential factors in their environment. Among these
factors, the home, school, church, and mass media play significant roles in shaping behaviors,
values, and belief systems. The impact of the school and home is particularly pervasive, with
schools often assuming the educational responsibilities traditionally held by families. From early
childhood through university, schools play a crucial role in molding individuals' characters.
However, at the university level, students encounter greater independence and may be exposed to
negative influences like theft, assault, substance abuse, and gambling.
Gambling, also known as betting, involves wagering money or valuable items, known as
"stakes," on an uncertain event with the aim of winning money or goods. It consists of three key
elements: consideration (the amount wagered), risk (chance), and a prize. The outcome of a bet
can be immediate or take time. Gambling is a popular leisure activity among people, especially
youth and adults, where they invest small amounts with hopes of gaining more in the future. The
result of gambling is determined by chance (Anayo, 2013). It is a widespread global activity that
entails betting money or items of value on chance-based outcomes (Derrick, 2018). However,
gambling is not without financial or psychological consequences. It involves seeking financial
gains without substantial effort. The legal age for gambling is 18 years and older.
Gambling nowadays has become more popular than decades ago due to development of
internet technologies. Use of Android phones with internet technologies made gambling easily
accessible. It could be done venue based or online. Individuals have the option to access
gambling through the internet. On line gambling or internet gambling is any kind of gambling
conducted on the internet. On line betting has become more popular around the world and tends
to on the increase among male undergraduates. On line gambling allows for different types of
belting: poker, casinos and sports betting. These are games of chance where your success purely
depends on luck. Amongst the types of online betting, sports betting seems to be the most
common of all. It is the activity of predictor sports result and placing a wager on the outcome.
The frequency of sports bet varies by culture with the vast majority of bets being placed on
association football, American football, basketball, baseball, lockey etc. Sports betting can also
extend to non athletic events such as reality show, contests and political elections and non human
contests such as horse racing, greyhound racing and illegal under ground cockfighting. It allows
you to bet on which team will win, to which score they will win, and even players will get
booked among other options.
There are many categories to select in online sports betting. Some sites include features
like Live bets, in this case, you bet on matches that are ongoing. The one line sports bet sits will
usually tell about bets that you can make as well as the returns you can get, if you will win. They
offer a number of sports that you can bet on and it all depends on your preference on which to be
on. With the number of on line ambling web sites out there are: Bet365 Naija, 360bet, Surebet
247, Nairabet, Betaja, 1960Bet, Merrybet, betre publican, Betcoloy, Lovingbet, RSS Betete
(Olayinka&Fageyinbo 2015). Any amount can be won depending on the number of odds.
Students choose the one that works best for them. It is not uncommon for sports betting websites
to offer wagers for entertainment events such as Grammy Awards, the Oscars and the Emmy
Award. Sports betters place their wagers legally through bookmaker/sports book. The term book
is a reference to the books used by wager brokers to track wagers, payouts and debts.
The online gamblers help to facilitate gambling problems particularly in individuals who
are already vulnerable to gaming problems. Unique risks to online gamblers are: 24 hours access,
convenience, social isolation, drinking and substance taking while gambling. Male
undergraduates tend to prefer online gambling to venue based because of its associated
convenience and comfort mode of playing. Online gambling is a social activity that can be
predicted by many factors. Many people gamble for tune, same gamble to get rid of their
psychological challenges while others gamble to win money or to build their activity to face
challenge in life, for enjoyment and excitement, to socialize and escape negative feelings
(Dumont & Ladoueur 2012). Some students gamble to meet up with financial problems,
entertainments & fun and out of boredom. Present indication shows that male undergraduate
students get more involved in it and some even perceived it as a major source of income as a
result, it affects their studies. Amongst the youths, male undergraduates are the gamblers
globally in Africa and Nigeria (Okeke, 2011). They bear the loss and profit of gambling in every
society of the world (Chiedu, 2012).
 Gambling poses a serious risk to male undergraduates who may be inclined to gamble
excessively, potentially leading to addiction. This addiction manifests when a student loses
control over their gambling habits. Subsequently, students may face economic and social
challenges due to the widespread participation in gambling activities. The social impact is
evident as male undergraduates may find themselves trapped in a cycle of gambling addiction
that is challenging to break. Various factors contribute to this addiction, including the desire to
win money, seek thrills, experience highs, and immerse in the entertaining gambling atmosphere.
Unfortunately, gambling can escalate to criminal activities like robbery, kidnapping, cultism, and
rape (Rawe, 2012), highlighting a significant connection between male undergraduates, crime,
and gambling. Economically, many undergraduates have dropped out of school after diverting
their educational funds into online gambling, leading to financial instability. This financial strain
may drive students to resort to theft, embezzlement, and other illicit activities in search of quick
cash. It results to poor academic performance, drop out from school, absent mindedness
especially in the class, severe debts, depression, drug or alcoholic addiction, bad company, health
problems especially, mental issues, criminal activities, loss of focus, absenteeism from class,
psychological problems, heavy financial loss, impulse spending, renders one useless in life,
impoverishment and committing suicide.
Some of the measures to reduce gambling among undergraduates include: Students
should be contented with what they have, parents should ensure that they send reasonable
amount of money to them as at when due, parents should stop comparing their children with
others whose source of income they do not know, parents who are not buoyant enough to
sponsor their male children in the university should send them to learn trade or crafts instead of
asking them to manage in the school, students should be studious and focused in the school,
should learn to avoid all sorts of distractions, parents should sensitive their children at home on
the ills of gambling before they get admission in the university, students should form study
groups by so doing it will enable them to be a watch dog over others in order to avoid gambling.
This situation therefore requires urgent attention, hence the problem of the study which is to
investigate the negative effects of gambling on student’s academic performance.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It has been observed that student’s addiction to gambling has reached an alarming
proportion, and has been condemned by many as it has affected a good number of students, from
different level of education ranging from primary school level to secondary school pupils and
institutions of higher learning, without the exception of all technical apprentices within the
society, leaving an heartbreaking aftermath of gross failure and deterioration on the academic
performances of students, Patience (2023). The magnitude of student’s involvement in gambling
has resulted into drugs and alcohol abuse, laziness, dropping out of schools, stealing to gamble,
suicide ideation and many other criminal activities in the state, and this has prompted this
research. The young learners who are supposed to be agents of creativity, models and future
leaders are seen to be addicted to gambling. This common phenomenon has befuddled their
sense of reasoning with dreaded feelings of depression, anxiety, rage, despair and emptiness.
In Nigeria, the problem of youth gambling is both deep and wide and in all our higher
institution, it is getting worst by the day among the students because of the prevalence of
technological devices such as advanced cell phones and swift internet accessibilty. These devices
have brought about series of online gambling outlets, registered and unregistered.
However, many people have assumed that the causes of gambling addiction among
youths are poverty, the availability of gambling opportunities, and the get-rich-quick syndrome.
This research is predicated on the need to investigate the alarming level of failures and
retrogression in the prospects of students, especially in institutions of higher learning.

1.3 Research Objectives

1. To investigate the causes of unending gambling activities among students
2. To examine the impact of frequent gambling on the academic performance of students
3. To evaluate the influence of get-rich-quick syndrome among students of higher learning
4. To proffers counter measures on the adverse effect of Gambling and it's addiction
amongst students.
1.4 Research Questions
1. What are the causes of unending gambling activities among students?
2. How does frequent gambling impact the academic performance and overall grades of
students?
3. How does get-rich-quick syndrome influence students to be addicted to gambling?
4. What extent does availability of gambling opportunities affect addiction to gambling?
5. What are the effective measures capable of combating the gross addiction of students to
gambling?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
(i) There is no relationship between poverty and youth addiction to gambling.
(ii) There is no relationship between gambling and academic performance.
(iii) There is no relationship between get-rich-quick syndrome and students addiction to
gambling.
(iv) There is no relationship between impacts of gambling opportunities and addiction
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study addresses a critical gap in the existing academic literature regarding the intersection of
gambling behaviours and academic performance among higher education students. While much research
has been dedicated to understanding the psychological and social impacts of gambling, fewer studies have
focused specifically on its direct implications for academic outcomes. By exploring this relationship, the
study enriches the body of knowledge and provides a comprehensive understanding of how gambling can
influence academic achievements, thus fostering further research in this domain.
1.7. Scope of the Study
The Scope of this research work will only be on negative effects of Gambling on the academic
performances of students of higher institutions, using Adeyemi Federal University of Education as a Case
Study.
1.8 Definition of Terms
Gambling; The betting or staking of something of value, with consciousness of risk and
hope of gain, on the outcome of a game, a contest

Bet; Something that is laid, staked, or pledged typically between two parties on the outcome
of a contest or a contingent issue

Academic performance; The measurement of the learning level achieved by students and is
considered a key indicator of the effectiveness of educational institutions.

Negative; A word or statement that expresses denial, disagreement, or refusal.