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The International Center for Responsible Gaming (ICRG) announced it has overhauled its college-focused responsible gambling website CollegeGambling.org.
The updated site includes a new design and features a “What You Can Do” section on the homepage that emphasizes resources for four different groups of people: campus health professionals, university administrators, students, and parents. ICRG President Arthur Paikowsky said in a press release obtained by PlayUSA:
“Our commitment to responsible gaming extends to college campuses, where students are shaping their futures. With the right information and support, every student can make informed decisions about gambling.”
The site aims to help counsel the roughly 6% of college students who deal with a gambling addiction, as well as those who can play a positive role in a college student’s life.
CollegeGambling.org offers resources for multiple stakeholders
Generally speaking, CollegeGambling.org contains the same helpful information it did before the overhaul.
The site’s resources help guide college students through action steps to address problem gambling and provide tools for college staff, students, and family members.
For example, when a user clicks on the “For Students” section of the home page, they’re taken to a new page that provides advice for fraternities and sororities, athletes, and resident advisors.
Additionally, it provides information about gambling myths, college gambling, and how to identify and take action against problem gambling habits.
“While most college students make responsible decisions about gambling, the most recent research estimates that 6 percent of college students in the US have a serious gambling problem that can result in psychological difficulties, unmanageable debt and failing grades,” the For Students page notes.
College students face higher risks of problem gambling
The ICRG notes on CollegeGambling.org that college students are more at risk of problem gambling than adults because they are “more impulsive.”
Furthermore, college students in their teens are more likely to make impulsive and unwise decisions, a reality that makes responsible gambling challenging.
Couple that with the fact that sports betting has exploded and six states offer online casino gambling, a college student’s higher propensity for problem gambling is even more concerning.
The website points out that students who have gambling problems are also more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as:
- Tobacco use
- Heavy drinking
- Binge drinking
- Smoking marijuana
- Taking illegal drugs
- Drive while drinking
- Have lower grades
However, the ICRG notes, that college students tend to “mature” out of problem gambling:
“While the most recent research estimates that 6 percent of college students have a gambling problem, college students appear to mature out of these problems, as they do with alcohol and drug use, after college. This is evidenced by the fact that only 1 percent of the adult population has a gambling disorder in the US.”
