A few days ago, one of my friends showed me a video of a young man reciting from memory the schedule of every NFL team from 2012 onward. I yawned. My friend looked insulted: “Come on, man … aren’t you impressed?” No, any true football fan can do that — it’s just a rotating schedule of division matchups. If you know one team’s schedule, you know them all.
Now, can you remember the eighth game of the second set of Lou Brouleau’s quarter-final match against Alexandra Mikhailuk on March 22, 2019? I doubt it. Only one person I know remembers this moment long forgotten in sports history — and that person is me.
I never imagined that one day I’d care about the outcome of a single game from a random tennis match. And yet, on that fateful March morning, not only did I care about this game — I lost thousands of dollars on it. I was twenty-one years old and a normal college student to the outside world. On the inside, though, I was a broke and broken compulsive gambler.
My story, once unique, is now a common tale told on campuses across the country — and administrators are finally waking up. At a recent recovery conference for higher education, the conference schedule featured not one but three programs discussing gambling, showing the widespread nature of this issue and the ways in which university leaders are responding. Campuses now recognize the threat of gambling to be real, not hypothetical. But what can they do from here?
In my experience as a gambling addiction prevention advocate, I have found that the following three ideas are simple yet critical things that universities can focus on to best help their students — the demographic of Americans most at risk of developing a gambling addiction:
1. RELEVANT EDUCATION
Educational efforts on college campuses must stay current with the ever-changing gambling landscape. Sports betting, once considered the definitive source of gambling harm among students, has now given way to prediction markets and gambling-adjacent behaviors — such as something as innocuous-seeming as buying or trading loot boxes in video games. Staying current with technology and gambling products is essential to speaking the language of students.
Educational efforts should also respect the depth of a gambling problem and the nuances that come with it. For instance, education that solely focuses on the financial aspect of gambling harm misses out on the emotional nature of the problem, like the desire to look or feel like a high roller, a big shot, or a winner — no matter how deep in the hole you might be.
A common complaint I hear from young adults struggling with gambling issues is the question: What do I do instead? Stressing the importance of consistency, routine, community support, and therapy is important, as efforts to stay abstinent from gambling often fail in isolation.
Relevant education also includes stakeholders across campus disciplines. Student affairs professionals, athletics staff, Greek life professionals, and people in similar roles should all become equipped to recognize signs of gambling harm on campus and feel confident in approaching somebody about their behavior and directing them towards professional help — either on or off campus. Additionally, I encourage campuses to produce virtual content that can be accessed by parents/guardians who would otherwise be unaware of ways they can monitor their child’s gambling behavior on campus.
2. LEVERAGE CURRENT EVENTS
I have found that students respond well to current events and pop culture.
“Today we’re here to talk about gambling.” Silence. Nobody likes to be lectured.
“Who here watched last night’s basketball game?” Hands go up. A friendly conversation starts that puts them in a familiar context.
It’s a good segue into a discussion of sports viewing, betting, and the prominence of gambling harm on college campuses. I also find that planning events around significant gambling events is a way to draw attention and successfully promote a gambling education event leading up to its occurrence — like hosting a talk the week before the Super Bowl.
While unrealistic to expect administrators to recognize all internet memes or industry personalities that promote gambling in the digital world, it is crucial for them to have at least some knowledge to encourage students to buy into an anti-gambling agenda their habits may currently oppose. By understanding and creating messages that directly address the current trends in the gambling world, administrators can better connect with students, raising their chances of successful interventions.
Most of all, though, when it comes to administrators supporting their students, it is critical for them to communicate in a way that makes students feel heard and not made to feel like they’re in trouble. Introducing anonymous surveys to gauge student behaviors and perceptions and encouraging peer-led support groups are practical ways to involve students and get them thinking about their own habits.
3. FOLLOW-UP SUPPORT
Awareness efforts in isolation inhibit the success of a gambling education strategy. Incorporating follow-up resources — such as sharing with students when and where local Gamblers Anonymous meetings are or having connections with therapists who specialize in gambling addiction recovery — into anti-gambling education is essential, as well as follow-up programming that reinforces and expands upon prior efforts.
I tend to view gambling education as I would a tree. Plant a seed with your message and allow it to grow… over time, it can blossom! You have to water it, check on it, and continue to support it — but you can’t rush it. Consistent care will yield slow and steady progress — a result I’ve seen time and time again since becoming a gambling prevention advocate.
IN SUMMARY
The risk of gambling on college campuses is not only the gambling behavior itself — it is ineffective responsiveness to the issue from campus administration. Through educational efforts that are relevant, engaging, and supported through follow-ups, administrators can effectively keep students protected from the growing threat of problematic gambling.
Saul Malek owns and operates Saul Malek Speaking LLC, an organization that works with college campuses across the country to help combat gambling addictions in young adults.