Collegiate Gambling Learning Collaborative

The Collegiate Gambling Learning Collaborative provides a comprehensive look at how gambling behaviors affect student wellbeing, how they intersect with alcohol and other drug use, and what campus teams can do to respond effectively. Whether a health educator, campus clinician, or administrator, this series provides practical strategies for how to integrate gambling into your existing student well-being initiatives.

Access to this learning collaborative and the library of other past learning collaboratives is exclusively available to HECAOD members. Individual membership begins at $150. Learn more about HECAOD member benefits and join today!

Examining Gambling and Its Impact on Student Mental and Physical Health

Presenter: Timothy Fong, M.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Gambling on college campuses has become a normalized and expected activity.  While often perceived and promoted as a recreational activity (or even as “side gig”) gambling can significantly affect students’ mental, physical, academic, and social well-being.  This session examines the growing landscape of youth and student gambling, including emerging trends such as sports betting, online casinos, and gaming-related gambling mechanics (e.g., loot boxes). Participants will explore the psychological and neurobiological factors that make young people particularly vulnerable to gambling harms, as well as the connections between gambling behavior and mental and physical health outcomes.  The session will also review screening strategies, prevention approaches and best practices in treatment that educators, healthcare providers, and campus professionals can implement to better support students.

Learning Objectives:

After this session, attendees will be able to:

• Describe the current landscape of youth and college student gambling, including common forms such as sports betting, online gambling, and gaming-related wagering.
• Name mental and physical health consequences associated with gambling disorder in a collegiate population.
• Develop and strengthen best practices that campuses can implement to reduce the spread of gambling disorder.
• Identify appropriate referral pathways and treatment resources for students experiencing gambling-related harm.

What Clinicians Need To Know About Collegiate Gambling

Presenter: Zachary Hitchens, MS, LCADC, NCC, Towson University

Collegiate gambling is an emerging clinical concern with significant implications for students’ mental health, substance use, and overall wellbeing. Clinicians gain practical guidance for recognizing and responding to gambling‑related harm within college populations, including strategies for integrating brief, effective screening into everyday clinical practice. The content highlights actionable harm‑reduction approaches that support students’ safety and resilience and provides a curated collection of training opportunities, tools, and referral resources to strengthen clinical responses to gambling concerns.

Learning Objectives:

After this session, attendees will be able to:

• Identify ways to infuse screening for gambling into clinical practice
• Name two harm reduction strategies to share with clients
• List places and resources that they can access for additional training

About the Presenter:

Zachary Hitchens currently serves as a Psychotherapist for Substance Abuse Services at Towson University’s Counseling Center. In his current role he provides counseling, recovery support, and prevention services to the campus community related to substance use and behavioral addictions. Over the past fourteen years he has provided clinical and prevention services at public and private universities and currently serves on the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery’s training advisory committee and collegiate problem gambling working group. He is a licensed clinical alcohol and drug counselor, a nationally certified counselor, and is certified in treating behavioral addictions.

Bridging the Gap: Leveraging AOD Expertise for Collegiate Gambling Prevention

Presented by Cindy Clouner, MPH, LSW, OCPS & Logan Davis, MA, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery

You don’t need to be a “gambling expert” to prevention gambling-related harms among college students. In fact, you already possess the most important tools for the job. In this session, you will discover how to translate your existing mastery of alcohol and drug (AOD) prevention directly into the gambling space.

This session will explore strategies used within HECAOD’s You Bet? curriculum, an evidence-informed gambling education program for students. Learn what leading gambling researchers and practitioners felt was critical for students to know about gambling and sports betting and how HECAOD was able to apply the evidence-based prevention principles used when addressing high-risk alcohol use to the topic of gambling.  Leave this session with the language, knowledge and confidence to integrate gambling into your prevention portfolio.

Learning Objectives:

After this session, attendees will be able to:

• Compare and contrast how existing evidence-based AOD prevention strategies can be adapted to prevent gambling related harms
• Identify the role language plays in activating or reducing resistance among students
• Describe 3 strategies for integrating gambling-related education into programming or conversations with students

About Our Presenters:

Cindy Clouner, MPH, LSW, OCPS has served as the Managing Director of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery since 2017. She joined HECAOD in January of 2015 as a prevention specialist, providing support for Generation Rx and serving as the Program Manager for the Ohio College Initiative. Before transitioning to HECAOD, Cindy spent eight years coordinating school and community-based prevention in Ohio. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Bowling Green State University and her Master of Public Health from The Ohio State University. She is a licensed social worker and an Ohio Certified Prevention Specialist.

Logan Davis, MA joined the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery in January of 2019, serving as the Outreach and Engagement Manager before transitioning to his current role as HECAOD’s Gambling Education Specialist in February of 2026.. Prior to joining the Center Logan worked at Delta Gamma Executive Offices overseeing the organization’s prevention education. Logan obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Murray State University and his Master of Arts in Higher Education from Louisiana State University.

Overcoming Barriers to Integrating Gambling into Health and Well-being Work on Campus

Panelists: Hannah Allen, PhD, University of Mississippi; Dolores Cimini, PhD, University at Albany, SUNY; & Kelly Truesdell, MPH, CHES, University of Virginia

Colleges and universities are increasingly recognizing the impact of problem gambling on student wellbeing—yet many campuses still face structural, cultural, and administrative barriers to addressing it effectively. Overcoming Barriers to Addressing Problem Gambling in Campus Health & Wellbeing brings together leaders from the University of Mississippi, University at Albany, and more to share practical strategies for gaining administrative buy‑in, building strong cross-campus partnerships, and collaborating with diverse student groups.

Through campus-tested examples, panel insights, and actionable tools, participants will learn how to engage senior administrators, connect with high‑impact student audiences—including student‑athletes, club sports, fraternity/sorority life, and financial aid recipients—and embed problem gambling prevention into existing wellness, education, and outreach frameworks.

Learning Objectives:

After this session, attendees will be able to:

• Describe effective ways to communicate the importance of addressing gambling-related harms to senior leadership and articulate key messages that resonate with campus decision‑makers.
• Analyze approaches for collaborating with student‑athletes, club sports, fraternity and sorority life, financial aid offices, and other high‑impact groups to expand the reach of gambling-related harm prevention and education.
• Apply practical, campus-ready strategies to overcome structural and cultural barriers and embed gambling work into existing health promotion, counseling, and wellbeing programs.

About Our Presenters:

Dr. Hannah Allen-King is a researcher, academic, and administrator at the University of Mississippi. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the William Magee Institute for Student Wellbeing, where she leads research efforts related to behavioral health among young people. She also serves as a faculty member in the Department of Public Health and helped launch the university’s public health undergraduate and graduate programs.

Dr. M. Dolores Cimini is a New York State licensed psychologist and Senior Research Scientist Emeritus in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology. She is the former Director of the nationally recognized Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program and the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research. Dr. Cimini has led comprehensive efforts in research-to-practice translation at the University at Albany since 1990 with over $10 million in support from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, and New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports. Dr. Cimini enjoys long-distance walking, traveling and listening to classical and modern music.

Kelly Truesdell, MPH, CHES is the Associate Director of Substance Use and Recovery Services at the University of Virginia, where she leads comprehensive prevention, early intervention, and recovery support initiatives that promote student well-being. Through her career, she has designed, implemented, and evaluated evidence-informed prevention strategies addressing substance use and interpersonal violence. Kelly oversees Well-Being Coaching and the Collegiate Recovery Program in her current role, ensuring inclusive support for students in recovery, including those impacted by gambling-related harms. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Public Health and holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and a Master of Public Health from the University of Georgia. Kelly is passionate about advancing university-wide strategies that foster university community partnerships, strengthen strategic planning, and maintain environments where all students can be successful.

Sessions from the Collegiate Gambling Learning Collaborative was recorded on April 16, 2026.