AHEC West partners with the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling – Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND Cumberland-based AHEC West is partnering with the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling to help increase public awareness of the risks of gambling, especially among young people exposed like no previous generation to the lure of betting.

The centerpiece of the promotional campaign is a contest among youth-participants in the ECHO program Exploring Careers in Health Occupations to develop an informational video about gambling targeted at their high school peers.

A program of the University of Maryland School of Medicine, funded by the states Problem Gambling Fund and monitored by the Maryland Department of Healths Behavioral Health Administration, the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling was established in 2012 in the wake of the states approval of casino gambling to promote responsible gambling, bring awareness to the risks of gambling and provide resources for help and recovery for those struggling with problem gambling/gambling addiction.

Nearly 10 years later, the explosive growth of online gaming including poker, fantasy sports leagues and daily sports wagering has made it easier than ever to gamble, and become addicted to gambling.

Referred to as remote gambling, these online games offer the same rush as the turn of a roulette wheel, but from the convenience and comfort of home.

According to National Center for Responsible Gaming, more than 80% of Americans gamble at least once per year, playing the lottery, visiting a casino, or wagering on sports. Up to 5% develop a gambling problem.

Teens are especially prone to games of chance. However, with the median age-of-onset of problem gambling occurring at 23, intervention in the teen years can help prevent a youthful flirtation from developing into a compulsive, destructive addiction. According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered in Maryland high schools in 2018, 22% of high school students had gambled in the last year. Males gambled more than females, with 31% of males reporting gambling in the last year.

This is a period when youth are experimenting with gambling, but perhaps have not yet developed extreme gambling behaviors, said Howard Shaffer, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the schools Division on Addictions. An intervention might help divert the development of risky gambling behavior during this vulnerable time.

Under the partnership between AHEC West and the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling, students in the ECHO program will be challenged to produce a video explaining problem gambling and providing a strategy to deter it. Scholarships will be awarded for the top three entries.

Were very excited about this partnership, said AHEC West Executive Director Susan Stewart. Problem gambling is a serious issue and we want to provide our youth and adults in the region with every available tool to help prevent this disorder from controlling their lives.

In addition to the ECHO activity, AHEC West will also host a webinar for health care professionals on problem gambling, distribute digital flyers through email, and include gambling in opioids-related peer counseling programs provided through the Healing Allegany initiative.

Mary Drexler, program director for the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling, said the partnership with AHEC West will help raise awareness throughout Western Maryland. Although youth gambling is illegal in Maryland (age 18 for lottery play; 21 for casino entry), the 2018 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that 28% of 12th graders in Garrett County, 19% n Allegany County, 19% in Frederick County, and 16% in Washington County have gambled in the last year, Drexler said. Peer to peer messaging is the most effective way to bring awareness that there are risks to gambling and how to prevent gambling from becoming a problem.

The Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling (the Center) is a program of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and funded by the Maryland Department of Healths Behavioral Health Administration.

The Center promotes healthy and informed choices regarding gambling and problem gambling through public awareness, training and education, prevention, technical assistance to the behavioral health care system, peer recovery support, research and public policy.

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AHEC West partners with the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling - Cumberland Times-News