Online gamers are helping people pay off their student debt
College affordability has recently become the preeminent issue in higher education, as student debt figures have hit staggering levels. Student loan debt exceeds other types of consumer debt, like car loans and credit card debt, reaching $1.19 trillion as of the first quarter of 2015.
And while lawmakers and student advocates look for solutions to the problem of unsustainable debt, relief for some borrowers may come from an unlikely place: online gamers.
Givling is a pay-to-play online game that helps to fund college for students, while also paying out prize money to high scorers of the game.
People with student loan debt can sign up for Givling to be placed in a queue to have their debts paid. The students don't have to play any games on Givling to be eligible for loan repayment.
Separately, gamers sign up and are randomly placed into teams of three. Team members answer true or false questions to rack up points. The highest scoring funding team is eligible for a $4 million prize. In addition to the large $4 million prize, there are smaller daily prize amounts awarded.
Givling costs 50 cents to play a round and an additional 30 cents for a transaction fee. Players also receive one free game a day. We first found out about Givling on USA Today.
So far, the game has paid one student's loans in full.