A growing share of U.S. healthcare students are turning to sportsbooks, prediction markets, and other unconventional income streams to help pay for their education, according to fresh survey data from workforce infrastructure firm Clasp — with two-thirds of student bettors counting their winnings as real or potential tuition money.
Key takeaways
- More than 1 in 4 healthcare students (27%) have used a betting or prediction market platform.
- 67% of student bettors treat winnings as school money — 24% build them into their tuition plan.
- 73% of student bettors wager multiple times a week; 15% do so daily — far above national youth rates.
- DraftKings (50%), FanDuel (42%) and Polymarket (31%) lead among student users.
- Nearly 30% say they cannot consistently cover a single month of basic expenses.
The findings draw on responses from 1,000 healthcare students surveyed between June 16 and June 28, 2026. They point to a picture in which conventional financial aid and borrowing are leaving many would-be clinicians hunting for extra ways to fund their studies. Respondents came from nursing, allied health, and other healthcare programs; 81% identified as women and 84% were under the age of 36.
The report lands just as changes to federal student borrowing rules take effect. Those limits, in force from July 1, 2026, could open significant funding gaps for some programs, Clasp said, piling further pressure on students already stretched by tuition and living costs.
More than a quarter of those surveyed said they have used sports betting or prediction market platforms, and many indicated that any money earned there feeds into how they intend to pay for school.
"The survey finds that more than 1 in 4 (27%) have used a betting or prediction market platform. Two-thirds of student bettors (67%) treat winnings as real or potential school money: 24% say winnings are part of their plan to pay for school, and another 43% say it could help."
— Clasp survey report
Students reach for alternative sources of cash
The research suggests the trend runs well beyond betting. More than half of respondents said they lean on income streams that rarely show up in traditional financial aid calculations.
Clasp found that 56% of surveyed students draw on alternatives such as credit cards, content creation, or other side income to cover tuition or everyday expenses. Platforms named in the report included TikTok, YouTube, OnlyFans, and Substack as common sources of supplemental earnings.
Some 21% said they take part in paid content creation. The survey also found that 6% had sold feet pictures or similar content online, while 10% had weighed egg or sperm donation as a potential way to raise money. Clasp framed these activities as part of a broader financial reality: nearly 30% of respondents said they cannot reliably cover a month of basic expenses.
The company added that many students remain unaware of the recent borrowing policy changes — even as they voiced strong determination to finish their healthcare training despite the financial strain.
Betting activity outpaces national trends
Healthcare students appear to engage with betting platforms at rates well above those usually reported for young adults. According to Clasp, 73% of healthcare students who use sportsbooks or prediction markets log on several times a week, and 15% do so every day. For comparison, the report cited broader figures for 18-to-22-year-olds of just 14% multiple times a week and 4% daily.
Several major platforms featured heavily. Half of student bettors reported using DraftKings, 42% said they had wagered through FanDuel, and roughly a third (31%) had traded event contracts on Polymarket. Prediction market operator Kalshi also drew notable use among students chasing extra income.
The results were far from a windfall, however. Only 40% of student bettors said they were ahead overall, while about half reported essentially breaking even.
"The most common amount won or lost is $100 to $1,000, and 1 in 10 report amounts over $5,000. Two respondents reported wins or losses above $50,000."
— Clasp survey report
Fourteen respondents said they had gained more than $5,000, while two others reported losses of a similar scale.
Women are stepping into prediction markets
Betting remains more common among male students, but the report flagged meaningful participation among women pursuing healthcare careers. Nearly half of male respondents said they use betting or prediction market platforms, compared with about one in five female respondents — a figure Clasp noted is roughly double the national rate of sports betting among women.
Given how heavily female healthcare education programs skew, the company said the numbers push back on the assumption that betting stays concentrated among men.
Clasp Chief Executive Officer Tess Michaels said financial pressure looks like the main force pushing students toward these platforms.
"These students aren't betting for fun. They're budgeting winnings into their tuition plans, and most of them are barely breaking even."
— Tess Michaels, CEO, Clasp
Michaels also pointed to the intense time demands of healthcare training as a factor shaping student choices. "Time is really precious in healthcare, and there are different jobs that you can do to try and earn extra cash," she said. "And so the fastest routes to being able to get access to cash are probably going to win."
