College athletes may be invested — literally — in sports games and events outside of their own.The NCAA ruled that college athletes can participate in sports betting starting Nov. 1, but there are some restrictions. The decision comes for athletes and athletic staff among all three divisions.The league said they do not endorse sports betting or gambling. NCAA still prohibits betting on college athletics or sharing sports intel with bettors.One gambling counselor, Jessica Auslander, said athletes may think they can beat the odds. “They might, you know, think they have an advantage or some insight, but gambling on anything at the end of the day is randomized,” she said.In North Carolina, sports betting has been legal for anyone over 21 since March of last year. This latest change from the NCAA means a group previously banned from betting — college athletes and athletic staff — could join the growing population that participates in gambling. “We don’t want somebody to persevere through a financial loss and find themselves out hundreds or thousands of dollars because they’re persevering,” Auslander said.She said some of her clients are athletes who don’t always know their limits.Anyone can be susceptible to sports gambling bad habits, she said, but athletes run the risk of addictive betting. College-age people, between 18-26, are still developing and can be more likely to engage in risky situations. Despite agility, perseverance, and feeling in control while playing their sport, athletes will not have the same luck in betting, Auslander said. “They’ve got a lot of great psychological skills and strengths, but applied in this setting, it can work against them,” she said.The data that exists on sportsbooks, she said, can be deceiving, even for the athletes who “know the game.””There’s a lot of random factors in sports, but athletes have such a strong sense, you know, of skill that they kind of forget that there’s a line between skill and luck,” Auslander said. She said the thrill of betting among athletes may alter their confidence and self-image as well. Several of Auslander’s clients described athletes as aspirational, and always mentioned wealth as part of their appeal. “I ask them, describe a professional athlete in their sport. Just about all of them talk about wealth,” she said. “They see that financial piece as part of that self-image of being an athlete. And that can be very dangerous.”It’s unclear what enforcement or consequences might look like from the NCAA if athletes or staff are found gambling on college sports — or what economic impact this gambling could have.