Novel approach

West Texas A&M University has introduced a novel anti-gambling policy that may have many other higher learning institutions wondering why they didn’t think of it first.    

blocked access to all legal and offshore gambling sites

Media reports started to emerge Monday that WT had, with immediate effect, blocked access to all legal and offshore gambling sites for anyone using school-owned devices or via any of WT’s WiFi connections. 

The WiFi block on gambling sites also extends beyond campus grounds to other WT-owned or affiliated locations. This means those attending WT’s Harrington Academic Hall in downtown Amarillo, the WT Enterprise Center in Canyon, and visitors to Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum can no longer access gambling sites.

The move follows a guest essay in the Amarillo Globe-News on September 22 in which WT President Walter V. Wendler slammed the rising prevalence of “predatory gambling sites.”

Wendler’s war

According to a WT Newsroom release, the university shared Wendler’s piece entitled ‘Predatory Gambling is Not a Problem on U.S. Campuses! Wanna Bet?’ in the AG-N with its campus via email on Monday.

“With the rise of online gambling and sports betting apps, access to gambling has never been easier,” Wendler wrote. He stated students at a formative stage “can develop habits and lifestyles that are:

akin to drug and substance abuse.”

The university chief then outlined the challenges facing college students inexperienced in managing their finances when living away from home for the first time. 

Wendler stated the lack of experience can make students “susceptible to the allure of quick wins through gambling.” The WT President cited numerous studies to support his claims, and to sum up: “There is not a single thread of evidence showing predatory gambling has a positive impact on academic excellence.”

Wendler then issued the blanket ban on gambling sites as “a response to these challenges.”

No fear of controversy

The WT President is not afraid of making controversial policy decisions. In March 2023, he enforced his unconstitutional prior restraint to ban drag shows the Texas Tribune stated was “in response to a student fundraiser that featured drag performers.”

In his essay, Wendler cited a study by nonprofit news organization The Conversation that stated 6% of college students have gambling addiction issues, a figure “twice the percentage of US adults.”

While stating his “personal empathy” for people struggling with any addictions, Wendler said as WT President he had, however, “a professional interest in eliminating any barrier to academic excellence.”