CLEVELAND, OH—Ohio’s college and university counselors are being asked to help keep compulsive gambling from becoming a problem among young people in the state as gambling venues multiply.
The state Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services hopes prevention and treatment of gambling addiction can be improved at universities and colleges, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland reported. A conference at Ohio State University conference last month alerted counselors, although some said they hadn’t detected widespread addiction at their schools.
But the Ohio Casino Control Commission says the number of players under 30 voluntarily banning themselves from Ohio’s s new casinos is growing. It says younger players represent a fourth of the 365 names on a voluntary exclusion list.
“We don’t want that to become a blatant problem in Ohio,” said Marcie Seidel, executive director of the Drug-Free Action Alliance, a nonprofit group that co-sponsored the conference with Ohio State. “We want to get out in front of that.”
When the American Gaming Association lobbying group released an annual report on the health of the casino industry this month, outgoing President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Fahrenkopf Jr. noted that players 21 to 35 years old accounted for 40 percent of casino traffic.
Fahrenkopf also noted that the new types of casinos in urban settings often appeal to younger players, the newspaper reported.
Casinos are often now surrounded by bars, entertainment, upscale restaurants and other venues that the association’s research indicates younger customers like to combine with casinos visits.
