Ohio for Responsible Gambling Wins Three National Awards

Ohio for Responsible Gambling has won three national awards for the state’s problem gambling prevention and responsible gambling campaigns. Ohio for Responsible Gambling, comprised of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Ohio Lottery Commission, Ohio Casino Control Commission and the Ohio Racing Commission, earned the awards at the recent National Conference on Gambling Addiction & Responsible Gambling, held virtually July 20-23, 2020.

“We knew that these campaigns were helping Ohio’s adult gamblers and families understand the potential dangers of gambling without safety measures, and these national awards reinforce that our work stands out compared to campaigns across the country,” said Lori Criss, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.

Each year the National Council on Problem Gambling honors individuals and organizations for their work on problem gambling and responsible gambling issues. Ohio’s awards came in the following categories:

Corporate Public Awareness Award: Change the Game Ohio was chosen as the outstanding public awareness campaign in the past year that shows increased public awareness of problem/pathological gambling. Peer professionals from a number of states voted on the campaign based on impact, quality, and reach. Change the Game Ohio is a youth gambling prevention campaign that provides information and tools to parents, educators, and youth.

Corporate Website Award: The www.ChangetheGameOhio.org website was chosen as the most outstanding website that has raised public awareness and prevention of problem gambling. Nominees were judged based on the breadth of impact, quality, and ability to reach gamblers and their families.

Media Award: This award was given for outstanding news reporting in any communications channel that increased public knowledge of problem/pathological gambling. NBC4 (WCMH-TV) Daytime Columbus’ program on “Veterans and Gambling Addiction” won for its broadcast in November 2019, initially airing on Veteran’s Day. The Ohio for Responsible Gambling goals were to generate awareness around the growing at-risk populations within Ohio, to help the public recognize the warning signs of someone who may be at-risk, including veterans, and to offer resources on how to access help.

Learn more at www.BeforeYouBet.org or call/chat the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline for assistance in your area at 1-800-589-9966. The outreach campaigns are managed by statewide Prevention agency Prevention Action Alliance and developed by Origo Branding agency of Columbus.

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