With headwinds growing stronger against online betting, a new responsible gambling campaign launched this week.
The Responsible Online Gaming Association, consisting of various gambling companies, launched its new Know Your Play campaign this week to educate college-aged students on responsible gambling, mental health, and financial literacy.
“College students are learning to navigate newfound financial independence and equipping this age group with resources to make informed decisions that can build good financial habits will serve them throughout their lives, whether they engage in gaming or not,” Dr. Jennifer Shatley, ROGA’s executive director, said in a statement. “While previous programs have focused on student-athletes, our campaign intends to educate the broader student population about responsible gaming concepts that can help this age group set realistic expectations and see gaming as a form of entertainment, not as a way of making money.”
Providing responsible gambling resources
The campaign has set up KnowYourPlay.org and aims to give the college-aged demographic access to digital learning tools, resources and videos. It seeks to educate them on responsible gambling concepts, including randomness, impulsiveness and limit setting. It also aims to dispel myths like the “illusion of control in sports betting.”
The campaign will also hold in-person learning sessions and workshops at college campuses. The release said the campaign will also pilot additional resources with some universities.
“College life presents unique pressures, from financial independence to academic performance, all of which can impact mental health,” said Daniel Umfleet, the CEO of the Kindbridge Group, a partner in the campaign. “By fostering decision-making skills that bridge these areas, we’re helping students build resilience, manage stress, and develop healthy habits that will serve them well beyond their college years.”
Groups behind responsible gambling initiative
ROGA is made up of numerous gambling entities:
- Bally’s
- BetMGM
- Bet365
- DraftKings
- Fanatics
- FanDuel
- Hard Rock Digital
- Penn Entertainment
Along with ROGA and Kindbridge, EPIC Global Solutions and the Responsible Gambling Council partnered on the campaign. The partners hope to raise awareness of responsible gambling resources available to the public.
Growing headwinds against industry
The Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine published a study this month about the rise in searches related to gambling addiction since 2021.
The study comes as more media entities publish pieces about the negatives of the legal sports betting industry, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Likewise, more lawmakers are now focused on increasing protections for bettors across the country, including through US Congressional hearings and bills. The Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment and Treatment Act would use a federal excise tax on sports betting to help treat gambling addiction.
Other bills introduced on the state level have focused on curtailing sports betting activity around college campuses.
