This study on sports betting and health status of youths was carried out in Calabar Metropolis, Nigeria. The objective of the study was to determine the health implications associated with fixed and virtual betting among youths. The multistage sampling technique was used in selecting four hundred (400) respondents from the ages of 20 to 69 years, representing 91% males and 9% females. Anchoring on survey design, primary data were gathered using a 10-item 4-point Likert Scale questionnaire, while the Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient was used in testing the hypotheses at 398 degrees of freedom and at a .05 significance level. In testing the hypotheses, the study found a perfect negative correlation between fixed betting and health status of youths (P≥0.99), and a perfect positive correlation between virtual betting and health status of youths (P≥1.00) in Calabar metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria. The study concluded that virtual betting was highly detrimental to the health of youths in Calabar, noted in increased anxiety, depression, frustration, and gambling addiction. Based on these findings, the study recommended for the National Orientation Agency, religious organisations and traditional authorities, in collaboration with the stakeholders in the betting industry to intensify efforts towards sensitising youths on the dangers of virtual gambling in Nigeria, particularly in Calabar metropolis.

Betting; Fixed Betting; Virtual Betting; Health of Youths

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