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Lane County public health presents data on gambling harms, urges prevention and school outreach
Summary
County public-health staff and community advocates presented data showing youth exposure to gambling and proposed prevention steps — including school-based education, the 'Take a Break' toolkit and expanded community outreach — while commissioners asked about treatment access and next steps.
Health and Human Services staff and community advocates presented the board with a public-health framing of gambling-related harms, highlighted youth exposure, and described ongoing prevention activities in Lane County.
Presenters cited state and local data: they said Oregon's estimated problem-gambling rate is higher than the North American average, that nearly 1 in 5 sixth-graders and 1 in 4 eighth-graders reported gambling in the past month on the 2024 Oregon Student Health Survey, and that video lottery terminals account for a dominant share of state lottery operating revenue. Staff described a range of risk factors — advertising, accessibility, co-occurring substance use and early exposure in video games and social media — and recommended integrating gambling-harm prevention into broader public-health and youth education efforts.
Rhonda Hatafy, co-chair of the local Gammaware Coalition and an advocate with lived experience, recounted founding the community effort and described the coalition's "Take a Break" toolkits, distributed to schools and community sites, which combine sensory items with information on gambling harm and local resources. Presenters said treatment in Oregon is available at no cost to residents and is funded at the state level, but that uptake is limited and stigma remains a barrier.
Commissioners pressed for clarification on the data and next steps: questions covered why prevalence is high in the state, what indicators identify people with gambling problems, how the program can scale into more school settings and how local partnerships can be used to expand prevention and referrals. Presenters said the program is seeking to increase parent engagement, expand classroom and school offerings by teacher request, and pursue targeted outreach timed to high-visibility events such as March Madness.
No board action was taken; presenters asked for continued partnership and feedback for program expansion.
