March Madness Feeds Gambling Addicts: University of Maryland Problem Gambling Center
March 20, 2013
March Madness begins this week and just about everyone fills out a tournament bracket, from workplace pools to elementary schools classrooms. By one estimate, all these gamblers are placing more than $12 billion dollars in bets. College basketball season can become a desperate situation for problem and pathological gamblers. The Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling at the University of Maryland School of Medicine is a resource for these problem gamblers, and for reporters and producers who want to cover this critical issue -- the dark side of sports.
“For problem/pathological gamblers, March Madness is neither social nor harmless,” states Joanna Franklin, Program Director for the Center. “March is the month when their addiction to gambling, their constant thinking about gambling, and their chasing loses can physically and financially drain them. Before the ‘Final Four’ playoff game in April, we will see gamblers with their emotional and mental health compromised.”
Gambling addicts come in every age, and college basketball season is prime time for younger problem gamblers. “Do you know that the Maryland Comcast Center basketball arena would need to be filled to capacity in order to accommodate all of the college age problem gamblers in Maryland?” says Carl Robertson, Prevention Manager for the Center on Problem Gambling.
The Center’s 24-hour help line (1-800-522-4700) and public awareness website (http://www.mdproblemgambling.com) are critical resources for problem gamblers. Experts such as Medical Director Dr. Chris Welsh, M.D., and Mr. Robertson, the Prevention Manager, are available for interviews about this problem. Interviews are available by phone, in person and using the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s on-campus satellite television studio, powered by VideoLink.
It is a timely issue -- this year, the American Psychiatric Association will add pathological gambling into the category of addictions. Research on this addiction is growing, as is our understanding of how to prevent and treat problem gambling.
For more information or to interview Dr. Welsh, please contact me.
Thanks,
Karen
Karen A. Robinson
(formerly Karen Buckelew)
Senior Media Relations Officer
University of Maryland School of Medicine
655 W. Baltimore Street, Rm 14-002
Baltimore, MD 21201
(phone) 410.706.7590
(fax) 410.706.8520
(mobile) 410.456.3705
http://medschool.umaryland.edu/
http://medschool.umaryland.edu/facebook/
http://www.youtube.com/schoolofmedicine
Please see a video interview with Executive Director Joanna Franklin here (broadcast-ready video is available)
“For problem/pathological gamblers, March Madness is neither social nor harmless,” states Joanna Franklin, Program Director for the Center. “March is the month when their addiction to gambling, their constant thinking about gambling, and their chasing loses can physically and financially drain them. Before the ‘Final Four’ playoff game in April, we will see gamblers with their emotional and mental health compromised.”
Gambling addicts come in every age, and college basketball season is prime time for younger problem gamblers. “Do you know that the Maryland Comcast Center basketball arena would need to be filled to capacity in order to accommodate all of the college age problem gamblers in Maryland?” says Carl Robertson, Prevention Manager for the Center on Problem Gambling.
The Center’s 24-hour help line (1-800-522-4700) and public awareness website (http://www.mdproblemgambling.com) are critical resources for problem gamblers. Experts such as Medical Director Dr. Chris Welsh, M.D., and Mr. Robertson, the Prevention Manager, are available for interviews about this problem. Interviews are available by phone, in person and using the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s on-campus satellite television studio, powered by VideoLink.
It is a timely issue -- this year, the American Psychiatric Association will add pathological gambling into the category of addictions. Research on this addiction is growing, as is our understanding of how to prevent and treat problem gambling.
For more information or to interview Dr. Welsh, please contact me.
Thanks,
Karen
Karen A. Robinson
(formerly Karen Buckelew)
Senior Media Relations Officer
University of Maryland School of Medicine
655 W. Baltimore Street, Rm 14-002
Baltimore, MD 21201
(phone) 410.706.7590
(fax) 410.706.8520
(mobile) 410.456.3705
http://medschool.umaryland.edu/
http://medschool.umaryland.edu/facebook/
http://www.youtube.com/schoolofmedicine
Please see a video interview with Executive Director Joanna Franklin here (broadcast-ready video is available)
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