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Nearly 70% of medical students in the United States actively use betting platforms and prediction markets to finance their education. However, according to fresh survey data from Clasp, only 48% of them record net profit. This is an alarming signal for the entire higher education system, where traditional financial instruments are failing to cope with the burden.

The study covered 1,000 respondents enrolled in healthcare programs. The results show that 50% of them placed bets on DraftKings, 45% on Kalshi, 42% on FanDuel, and 31% on Polymarket. Notably, for 73% of respondents, betting has become a regular habit: they open positions at least several times a week, and 15% do so daily. This indicates a deep integration of gambling mechanics into the daily lives of future doctors and nurses.

About 67% of students view such services as a direct way to cover their educational expenses. Meanwhile, 24% have already incorporated betting into their financial plan, and another 43% do not rule out this option in the future. Alarmingly, nearly 30% of respondents admitted that they cannot consistently cover their expenses for even one month without additional sources of income.

However, the reality is harsh: only 40% of participants recorded net profit, while about half broke even. Typical wins or losses range between $100 and $1,000. But there are exceptions: one in ten reported amounts exceeding $5,000, and two reported over $50,000. Such volatility makes prediction markets more of a lottery than a reliable source of funding.

The survey also revealed a significant gender gap. Although over 80% of all respondents were women, men were noticeably more likely to use betting platforms. Nearly half of male students stated that they resort to such services, whereas among women, this share was about one-fifth. This underscores that the problem does not affect everyone equally but hits the most vulnerable groups.

Betting and prediction markets are just part of a broader picture. According to Clasp, 56% of respondents also use other alternative financing methods: credit cards, creating content on TikTok, OnlyFans, YouTube, or Substack. This points to a crisis in traditional models of paying for education, where students are forced to seek any, even risky, paths.

Why This Is Happening

Clasp CEO Tess Michaels explains the trend as a combination of high education costs and severe time constraints. For medical students, time is especially valuable: balancing studies with additional work is difficult, so the fastest ways to get cash turn out to be the most attractive—even if they carry a high risk of loss. The expert called the survey results a cause for concern, suggesting that the number of university students forced to seek unconventional ways to earn money could grow.

It is important to note that to obtain a private educational loan, graduate students often need a co-signer—typically wealthy parents. If such support is unavailable, students turn to alternatives, including platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. The study was released simultaneously with an update to graduate student loan rules, which expanded the list of professional programs but did not solve the fundamental issues of accessibility.

As a professional in the crypto industry, I believe that using prediction markets to finance education is a symptom of a deeper socio-economic crisis. Polymarket and Kalshi provide powerful tools for risk hedging and speculation, but their transformation into a "lifeline" for medical students undermines the very idea of education as an investment in the future. Markets should serve to manage risks, not to create them in such a critical field as healthcare.