Towson gets ahead of sports gambling problem at colleges

TIM: THE FOCUS HERE AT TOWSON UNIVERSITY IS ON EDUCATION, DIRECTED TOWARD AN ISSUE THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BECOME A PROBLEM FOR STUDENTS. COLLEGE CAMPUSES ARE NOT OFF LIMITS WHEN IT COMES TO SPORTS BETTING. TOWSON UNIVERSITY WAS ONE OF THE FIRST SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY TO APPLY FOR AND RECEIVE A $40,000 GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL COUNCIL ON PROBLEM GAMBLING TO HELP LAUNCH A STUDENT AWARENESS CAMPAIGN. >> WE SAT DOWN AS A TEAM AND TALKED ABOUT IT, AND DECIDED, LETS START TALKING ABOUT IT. THIS PREVENTION DOESNT WORK IF YOURE NOT ENGAGING IN THE WORK. SO WE DECIDED, LETS WRITE THE GRANT, LETS SEE IF WE CANT CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE PREVENTION PROGRAM, AND LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENS. TIM: AND THAT WAS THE FIRST STEP TOWARD INCLUDING GAMBLING AWARENESS AMONG THE SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH TOWSONS OFFICE OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND OTHER DRUG PREVENTION CENTER. >> THERE IS SO MUCH STIGMA CONNECTED TO MENTAL HEALTH CONCERNS, SUBSTANCE USE. THE SAME WOULD BE TRUE WITH GAMBLING. AND SO, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT STUDENTS ARE GOING TO JUST AUTOMATICALLY COME AND ASK FOR HELP ABOUT, ESPECIALLY IF THIS FEELS LIKE A FORBIDDEN TOPIC ON CAMPUS. TIM: GAMBLING IS NOW A TOPIC MORE TOWSON STUDENTS SEEM WILLING TO ABOUT TALK ABOUT ON AND OFF CAMPUS. >> LIKE, IF YOURE GOING TO DO IT, YOU SHOULD KNOW -- LIKE HAVE HARD LIMITS OF LIKE, IM NOT GOING TO DO MORE THAN THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY. MAKING SURE YOURE NOT LOSING, LIKE, YOUR TUITION IN BETS. TIM: THE SCHOOL LAUNCHED ITS GAMBLING AWARENESS PROGRAM A FEW MONTHS BEFORE SPORTS BETTING BECAME LEGAL IN MARYLAND. >> I MEAN AS LONG AS YOURE DOING IT RESPONSIBLY AND NOT LIKE PROBLEMATICALLY, I GUESS ITS -- THATS A GOOD THING. TIM: TOWSONS GAMBLING AWARENESS CAMPAIGN INCLUDED AN IN-APP BANNER AD SENT AT RANDOM TO ADVISE STUDENTS THAT HELP IS AVAILABLE. DO YOU THINK ITS A GOOD IDEA THAT THEYVE GOT THAT? >> YES, ITS DEFINITELY GOOD TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND HAVE LIKE AN APP, SO WE CANNOT ALL GET OUT OF HAND. TIM: IN ALMOST A YEARS TIME, THE UNIVERSITY SAYS IT HAS TRAINED STUDENTS TO CONNECT WITH CLASSMATES WHO COULD BE REACHING OUT FOR HELP. ON THE CAMPUS OF TOWSON UNIVERSITY, TIM TOOTEN, WBALTV 11 NEW

Towson University gets ahead of growing gambling problem at colleges across US

Updated: 5:48 PM EST Mar 3, 2023

Gambling has become a problem on a growing number of college campuses.According to a report released by the International Center for Responsible Gambling, about 6% of college students have a serious gambling problem.While Towson University is not experiencing a problem, it has made an early commitment to address the issue. Towson became one of the few schools in the country to prepare for what it believed could become a problem for students betting on sports.The university applied for and received a $40,000 grant from the National Council on Problem Gambling to help launch a student awareness campaign."We sat down as a team and talked about it and decided, 'Let's start talking about it.' Prevention doesn't work if you're not engaging in the work, so we decided let's write the grant, let's see if we can't create a comprehensive prevention program, and let's see what happens," said Emily Wiegand, assistant director of Towson's Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Center.The school launched a marketing campaign with the hopes of getting ahead of what could become a trend among college students."We were expecting, potentially, an increase in dialogue on campus around sports betting. There was no previous conversation about sports betting on campus, but we knew that sports betting was set to go live in Maryland last fall," Wiegand said.Gambling is now a topic more Towson students seem willing to about talk about on and off campus."If you're going to do it, you should ... have hard limits of, like, 'I'm not going to do more than this amount of money,' making sure you're not losing, like, your tuition in bets," said Evy Kohler, a Towson student."I mean, as long as you're doing it responsibly and not, like, problematically, I guess that's a good thing," said Indira Fayson, a Towson student.Towson launched its gambling awareness program a few months before sports betting became legal in Maryland in November 2022."There is so much stigma connected to mental health concerns, substance use. The same would be true with gambling, and so, this is not something that students are going to just automatically come and ask for help about, especially if this feels like a forbidden topic on campus," Wiegand said.Towson's gambling awareness campaign included an in-app banner ad sent at random to advise students that help is available."It's definitely good to be responsible and have, like, an app, so we cannot all get out of hand," said Nicole Muroff, a Towson student.In almost a year's time, the university said it has trained students to connect with classmates who could reach out for help.

Gambling has become a problem on a growing number of college campuses.

According to a report released by the International Center for Responsible Gambling, about 6% of college students have a serious gambling problem.

While Towson University is not experiencing a problem, it has made an early commitment to address the issue. Towson became one of the few schools in the country to prepare for what it believed could become a problem for students betting on sports.

The university applied for and received a $40,000 grant from the National Council on Problem Gambling to help launch a student awareness campaign.

"We sat down as a team and talked about it and decided, 'Let's start talking about it.' Prevention doesn't work if you're not engaging in the work, so we decided let's write the grant, let's see if we can't create a comprehensive prevention program, and let's see what happens," said Emily Wiegand, assistant director of Towson's Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse Prevention Center.

The school launched a marketing campaign with the hopes of getting ahead of what could become a trend among college students.

"We were expecting, potentially, an increase in dialogue on campus around sports betting. There was no previous conversation about sports betting on campus, but we knew that sports betting was set to go live in Maryland last fall," Wiegand said.

Gambling is now a topic more Towson students seem willing to about talk about on and off campus.

"If you're going to do it, you should ... have hard limits of, like, 'I'm not going to do more than this amount of money,' making sure you're not losing, like, your tuition in bets," said Evy Kohler, a Towson student.

"I mean, as long as you're doing it responsibly and not, like, problematically, I guess that's a good thing," said Indira Fayson, a Towson student.

Towson launched its gambling awareness program a few months before sports betting became legal in Maryland in November 2022.

"There is so much stigma connected to mental health concerns, substance use. The same would be true with gambling, and so, this is not something that students are going to just automatically come and ask for help about, especially if this feels like a forbidden topic on campus," Wiegand said.

Towson's gambling awareness campaign included an in-app banner ad sent at random to advise students that help is available.

"It's definitely good to be responsible and have, like, an app, so we cannot all get out of hand," said Nicole Muroff, a Towson student.

In almost a year's time, the university said it has trained students to connect with classmates who could reach out for help.

Read the rest here:

Towson gets ahead of sports gambling problem at colleges