Influence of online gambling advertisements on undergraduates of a selected Nigerian University

This study investigated the influence of online gambling advertisements on undergraduates in Nigeria focusing on students of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye. Anchored on the propositions of social learning and cognizance theories, it adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised of full-time students having 19,740 enrollments as at 2021/2022 academic years. The sample size was 395 respondents selected through simple random technique. Findings showed that peer pressure arising from colleagues’ winnings influenced the addictive gambling habits of respondents. Besides, online gambling also had negative economic consequence on the respondents because of the addictive nature of gambling which kept luring them to re-invest their winnings. The study equally found out that online gambling was more prominent among male students than females. Based on these findings, the study concluded that undergraduates in Olabisi Onabanjo University are exposed to online advertisements on betting which lure undergraduates to place more bets; and ultimately influences the betting habits of students. It therefore recommended that university management should include counseling against gambling and betting in the orientation programme of prospective students. Parents and guardians should also monitor and guard their children and wards against the addiction of online gambling.