Penn State program aims to raise awareness of gambling addiction after casino opening
A new campaign that focuses on raising awareness of gambling addiction among the Penn State community has kicked off, shortly after the official opening of Happy Valley Casino.
The Penn State Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC), a community that supports students in recovery from various addictions, recently launched its “Know the Odds” campaign that focuses on early intervention by raising awareness and reducing stigma around seeking help.
As part of its effort to educate students about the risks of gambling and connect those in need with support and resources, the CRC hosted a virtual gambling awareness webinar on Tuesday, collaborating with Centre County Communications (CCC), a student-run public relations agency at Penn State.
Identifying how addiction starts
Jason Whitney, director of Penn State’s CRC, shared how a gambling addiction is similar to a chronic health condition or drug addiction.
“Gambling triggers many sorts of different biochemical processes that mimic severe drug addiction,” he said during the webinar. “Even if you are not taking drugs, it’s almost as though gambling is an addiction to the drugs your own body makes.”
People produce a cocktail of brain chemicals when excited, the most addictive being high levels of dopamine, norepinephrine and endogenous opioids, said Whitney. These are the same neurotransmitters that lead to alcohol and drug addiction, he added.
Who is susceptible?
People that need to acquire big sums of money relatively quickly are most likely to gamble, said Whitney. He added how it is common for the CRC to support “crossover addictions,” where students who were already struggling with alcohol or drugs later developed gambling problems.
Another way to fall into a gambling addiction is to get hooked on online games that use real money such as sports betting apps/sites, online casino-style platforms and mobile/console games like Fortnite with “top up” systems where you upload money for credits.
“Online gambling is going to destroy our generation, especially the younger male population, if it is not controlled,” said Carly Spiel, a moderator during the webinar, adding how most users of online games are young people.
These are framed as dangerous because they are disguised as normal gaming apps, heavily advertised on social media and often target young people, the moderators explained.
A Pew Research study reported that men are more likely than women to view gambling as acceptable. Another study by the National Council on Problem Gambling reveals young adults ages 18–24 are among the most at-risk groups for developing problem gambling behaviors.
Recovery
Gambling disorders are better off treated as chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and substance use disorders since they are chronic and lifestyle based, Whitney said.
In the recovery process, those with gambling addictions require ongoing lifestyle changes, behavioral changes, community, honesty and support meetings.
“The name of the game in recovery is not necessarily just stopping,” Whitney said. “It’s about staying stopped and maintaining that lifestyle change, treating it that seriously as something that can ruin their lives and/or kill them. The main way this disease kills people is suicide.”
He added that gambling has the highest suicide rate of any behavioral addiction.
“Debt alone can ruin your life, and gambling and debt together are very difficult to escape from,” he said.
Charles Benedict, a CRC student, shared his story on early drug and gambling addiction that led him into severe debt.
“It is as impulsive as a drug addiction,” he said. “Sometimes losing felt even better than winning to me and that’s a common theme, where sometimes the loss causes more adrenaline and more of a rush. I’m down $300; I have to keep going. And that is where the addiction really grabs a hold on you because that feeling of winning the money back when you’re hundreds in debt will feel even better than if you weren’t.”
Benedict emphasized how he successfully recovered from his gambling addiction by making the first big step in being honest about it. “I remember hiding it from everyone because I was embarrassed and felt ashamed. These feelings kept me from opening up and getting help,” he said.
Benedict said he underestimated his addiction because he didn’t see it as a serious issue, since it didn’t feel as severe as drug addiction.
“I would tell myself I can stop whenever I want,” he said. “I had to accept that I needed to treat it as a disease instead of as something I can just put down. I proved myself over and over that I couldn’t.”
The CRC offers multiple recovery resources for different addictions, including a recovery dorm (ROAR House) and daily peer support seminars. Many students in the program have previously been in treatment and actively participate in these supports, along with a weekly family and friends group and inclusion in 12-step recovery programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous. The program reports low relapse rates, which Whitney said is largely because students view recovery as a path to a better future and a way to avoid negative outcomes.
More information on the campaign can be found on Instagram @centrecountycomm or Facebook at Penn State Collegiate Recovery Community.
Penn State students can also access resources through the university’s student affairs webpage for “Well-being Services.” And a Pennsylvania helpline is confidential and available to everyone 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER.
