Graduate Course Generates Sports Betting Projects

July 23, 2026
Two professional women stand in a library and speak to people facing them.

Focus on Prevention, Screening & Treatment

During the second week of July, Compass Mark co- coordinated a 3-credit graduate course with Dr. Jeff Wimer, Professor of Wellness & Sport Sciences at Millersville University—the Summer Institute on Sports Betting & Problem Gambling Prevention and Treatment.

Thirty graduate students from central PA and beyond spend a week learning about problem gambling as a public health issue, as well as prevention, harm reduction, and treatment strategies. Guest speakers included:

  • Dr. Harry Levant, Director of Gambling Policy, Public Health Advocacy Institute
  • Dr. Michelle Malkin, Director of the Gambling Research & Policy Initiative, East Carolina University
  • Josh Ercole, Executive Director, Council on Compulsive Gambling of PA
  • Dr. Kavita Fischer, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  • Abby Peters, Founder, SHHARP Counseling LLC
  • Eric J. Webber, Senior Behavioral Health Therapist, Caron Treatment Center
  • Jonathan Cohen, Author, Losing Big: America’s Reckless Bet on Sports Gambling

Dr. Wimer introduced his students to Dr. Mitch Crawford from WellSpan Health, who spoke about substance use and gambling disorders as chronical medial issues, as well as Margo Thowart of the college’s Center on Health Education & Promotion. She introduced attendees to the evidence-based prevention curriculum You Bet?, designed specifically for college-age populations.

Course Content

Throughout the week, students heard recurring themes from Dr. Wimer and guest speakers, including that:

  • Gambling is about the action, not the money;
  • The anticipation of gambling is usually more pleasurable and compelling than the act of gambling;
  • Teaching financial literacy, including about compounding interest, can preventative for young people;
  • A person with disordered gambling can’t think of any way out except for finding more money for gambling, whereas a person with alcohol use disorder knows that another drink won’t fix their life.
Student Projects to Impact Community

The Institute’s students, representing the professional fields of education, counseling, coaching, and social services, each created an action plan for a project to implement at the course’s end. Their plans ranged from health promotion and prevention activities in public and private schools, to better screening processes for treatment and case management providers. Each of these 30 projects will contribute to reducing the harms from betting and gambling being felt in our communities.

Successful Scholarships

Scholarships were offered for the full cost of the course to students who live or work in Lancaster or Chester Counties by the Lancaster County Drug & Alcohol Commission and Chester County Drug & Alcohol Services. Three-quarters of the students applied for and received a scholarship—thank you to our county departments for allowing so many professionals to become prepared to address gambling issues!

Risk Factors for Betting Problems

The Summer Institute’s expert lecturers made it clear that gambling disorder isn’t well-recognized, and that most who experience it simply assume they are broken. Before we can expect someone to reach out for help, we must be clear that there are risk factors for disordered gambling that some people have, and other people do not. Risks include:

  • Risk-taking or impulsive personality
  • Family history of substance use or gambling issues
  • Experiencing a big win as a young person
  • Being. . .
  • . . . Age 26 or under
  • . . . Black or African-American
  • . . . Part of the LGBTQ+ population
  • . . . A veteran
Reading & Resources

Further reading on gambling disorders and screening tools:

Help & Hope
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Our Information & Referral Team is available for anonymous, confidential support and connection to help in Chester, Lancaster, and Lebanon Counties, PA.

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