OASAS Announces $150,000 to Raise Awareness of the Dangers of Underage Gambling in Local Communities

ALBANY, NY (08/08/2007)(readMedia)-- Through a series of mini-grants totaling $150,000, fifteen areas across the state will be given the opportunity to implement underage gambling prevention awareness campaigns, State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo announced today.

“Underage gambling is in all of our communities, from youth betting on sports games at school to participating in all night poker tournaments in a friend’s basement,” Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo continued. “Parents need to be aware that these behaviors can very easily turn compulsive, which is why they need to heed the early warning signs of gambling problems. These grants will both raise awareness and change the misperceptions pertaining to underage gambling.”

Results of a recent OASAS survey of students in grades 7-12 indicate that almost 20 percent of those surveyed are currently at risk of developing a gambling problem, while 10 percent may need treatment for a gambling problem. In addition, males surveyed were nearly twice as likely as females to have gambled within the past 30 days. The survey also indicated that, of those students in grades 7-12 identified with a substance abuse problem, almost half (45%) also had a gambling problem.

Some of the warning signs youth may display include unexplained absences from school; poor grades; stealing money to gamble with or pay off debts; displaying large amounts of cash or other material possessions or missing material possessions; spending the majority of time on gambling related activities such as the Internet and card games; and intense interest in gambling related conversations.

Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo continued. “Underage gambling is not just a game of chance – it’s a serious issue with potentially devastating repercussions.”

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please contact the New York Council on Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-437-1611.

A description of awardees, including funding amount, is below:

Tioga County Council on ASA, Inc. ($10,000)

• To develop a public awareness campaign targeting compulsive gambling in the adolescent and college-age population by creating a dynamic website to increase knowledge of the risks and consequences of gambling.

Albany-Schoharie-Schenectady-Saratoga BOCES ($10,000)

• To conduct a public awareness campaign targeting youth throughout the county by means of various presentations, poster contests, newspaper articles and billboards.

Schoharie County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc. ($10,000)

• To develop a public awareness campaign using “continuously moving visual media (backs of public buses) – throughout the county and on the SUNY Cobleskill campus.

New York Council on Problem Gambling ($7,800)

• To develop an educational public awareness campaign directed at college campuses, including college and university personnel, and campus counseling centers.

The Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council of Jefferson County, Inc. ($10,000)

• To increase public awareness around underage gambling issues by utilizing local radio stations to air 5 peer-developed ads.

Madison County Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc (BRiDGES) ($9,100)

• To conduct media literacy presentations, examining the influences of advertising on decision making, disseminate printed materials, utilize newspapers and radio to target college and local community members, and work with college task force to examine college gambling issues and assist in the formation of a campus policy with consequences for violations.

The Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Prevention Council of Saratoga County, Inc. ($10,000)

• To partner with local newspapers, broadcasting companies, and/or internet websites with the goal of increasing parental knowledge of the risks associated with underage gambling and the consequences.

Chautauqua Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Council ($10,000)

• To hold a media press conference, utilize billboards, radio messages, and radio talk/call-in shows to increase awareness of underage problem gambling and its consequences to the community. + Prevention Network ($9,800)+

• To raise awareness of underage and college level gambling in Onondaga County through various media venues: college newspaper; posters; radio/TV PSAs; conduct a survey among the county school districts and colleges examining the presence (and enforcement) of gambling policies; and explore educational curricula on problem gambling prevention to infuse with existing educational offerings delivered in schools throughout the county.

Northpointe Council, Inc ($10,000)

• Will create a public service campaign in Niagara County to raise awareness of the risk factors associated with adolescent and college-age gambling; identify compulsive gambling behavior; modify attitudes and behavior among those populations and the broader community.

Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse ($10,000)

• Will hold two town meetings to address concerns of each community around underage gambling issues; work with local merchants who sell lottery tickets to increase their knowledge regarding the age restrictions; and conduct media literacy presentations to various groups in the community and college campus (Genesee Community College).

DePaul Addictions Services, Inc. ($10,000)

• Implement a media/public awareness campaign in Monroe County targeting youth and parents, utilizing printed PSAs in local major newspapers, to increase the awareness of the risks of underage gambling, while decreasing favorable attitudes regarding youth gambling.

Council on Alcoholism & Other Chemical Dependencies of the Finger Lakes ($10,000)

• Will increase awareness of the problem of compulsive gambling through radio ads and interviews; print articles and interviews; produce an educational DVD for dissemination to the 30 school districts in the Finger Lakes region, as well as 4 colleges, and other human service agencies; produce a “movie screen slide” to be shown on all 8 screens in Finger Lakes theaters.

Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Council of HFM (Hamilton, Fulton, Montgomery Counties - $10,000)

• Implement a public awareness campaign to include: community awareness sessions; community referral services; educational workshops for parents, teachers, and health professionals.

Mohawk Valley Council on Alcoholism/Addictions Inc.(Oneida County - $9,870)

• Create a public awareness campaign to change the social norms and the perceptions of underage gambling in Oneida County.

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