Sports Betting: Risks & Ripple Effects Teach-Out

From setting betting limits to shaping campus policy, Wolverine Wellness’s Christina Gerazounis shares ways to reduce the risks of sports betting for college students.

Takeaways: Prevention of Problem Gambling

We have prepared a list of key points from the Prevention of Problem Gambling and Policy Approaches interview for your reference:

1. Gambling exists on a spectrum, and prevention must meet people where they are. Gambling behavior ranges from no engagement to social or recreational betting, risky use, and gambling disorder. Most harm occurs well before someone meets the clinical criteria for a disorder. Effective prevention recognizes this continuum and ensures resources, education, and support are available across the entire spectrum—not only for those in crisis.

2. Individual-focused messaging is necessary but insufficient. Problem gambling hotlines and “gamble responsibly” messages help normalize help-seeking and can prompt self-reflection. However, they are often drowned out by highly engaging, celebrity-driven advertising and place responsibility almost entirely on individuals. This narrow framing overlooks how platform design, marketing saturation, and ease of access shape behavior and risk.

3. Harm reduction emphasizes intention, limits, and context—not abstinence. Harm reduction focuses on reducing risk rather than eliminating behavior. Strategies long used for alcohol and drug prevention translate directly to sports betting: setting budgets in advance, separating betting money from essential finances, limiting time and screen use, and clarifying why one is betting. The same behavior can carry very different risks depending on the motivation—entertainment versus coping, chasing losses, or emotional escape.

4. Language, media literacy, and coaching approaches can have a positive impact. Many students do not identify with the word “gambling” but readily engage with “betting,” making accessible terminology essential for meaningful prevention conversations. Media literacy helps people recognize betting advertisements as persuasive marketing rather than entertainment by questioning who created them, whom they target, and what emotional tactics are being used. Wellness coaching and motivational interviewing build on strengths and values, helping individuals notice mismatches between their values and betting behaviors and use that insight to motivate change.

5. Policy is the most powerful and sustainable prevention tool. While education and programs are important, policy-level interventions create lasting, population-wide impact. Effective prevention includes addressing advertising exposure, prop bets, digital and Wi-Fi environments, and other structural factors that normalize and amplify betting. Policies shift the burden from individual self-control to shared responsibility, aligning prevention with a true public health approach.

Reflection Questions

In your daily life, you may have one or more than one of the following roles. Think about the questions that we have posed here. How can you use the Prevention of Problem Gambling and Policy Approaches interview to respond to these questions?

• Public health professionals:
  • How do the harm-reduction strategies discussed here compare to approaches in your context?
• Young adult casual bettors:
  • When you think about betting, what signals would tell you that it is shifting from entertainment toward coping or stress relief?
  • What harm-reduction strategies could you realistically put in place before placing a bet with friends?
• Parent or guardian:
  • What conversations could help young adults reflect on gambling risks before problems escalate without relying on fear or punishment?
• Athlete:
  • How might the pressures, visibility, and financial temptations you face change the risks associated with gambling compared to your non-athlete peers?
• High school or college athletics professional:
  • Where could gambling prevention be integrated into existing campus health and wellness efforts without treating it as a separate or “fringe” issue?