The Responsible Online Gaming Association announced Thursday the launch of a national responsible gaming education campaign aimed at college students and sports betting.
Set to debut in early 2025, the program is one of the first collaborative efforts from ROGA.
The group is made up of some of the nation’s largest sports betting operators.
Responsible gaming focus on students
The initiative will provide responsible gaming education, promote financial literacy, and raise awareness about problem gambling tailored to the college student demographic. It will provide resources on budgeting, saving, and debt management, while also addressing the risks associated with gambling, utilizing digital tools from EPIC Global Solutions, Kindbridge Behavioral Health, and the Responsible Gambling Council.
“A main goal of ROGA is to promote responsible gaming education and awareness across various audiences, including the college-aged demographic,” ROGA executive director Dr. Jennifer Shatley, said in a press release. She emphasized the need for the unique program, noting that current resources primarily focus on student-athletes, leaving the broader student population underserved.
The campaign will highlight the importance of destigmatizing problem gambling by using the personal accounts of those impacted by it. It builds on EPIC’s experience educating more than 50,000 NCAA student-athletes by extending the message to all college students, according to the release.
The program will also emphasize gaming as a form of entertainment rather than a way to make money. It will be accessible to all students, though select universities will pilot extended content to further refine the program’s reach and impact.
Federal sports betting restrictions
The announcement came the same day as a new federal sports betting bill sparked immediate pushback from the gaming industry.
The SAFE Bet Act proposes several significant regulations, including restrictions on advertising, deposit limits, and a ban on prop betting for college athletes.
The bill’s advertising restrictions aim to limit exposure to minors, while affordability measures would cap daily and monthly deposits for bettors. It also calls for tighter controls on sportsbooks’ use of artificial intelligence, claiming that current AI practices unfairly target vulnerable players.
Gaming industry leaders criticized the proposal, arguing that limiting advertising and betting options would drive players to the unregulated illegal market, where consumer protections do not exist. The bill’s proposed ban on college prop bets also drew attention, with supporters citing the protection of student-athletes from gambling-related harassment.
