Playing It Safe: How Lotteries Across the U.S. Support Problem Gambling Awareness Month

A NASPL RG Roundtable

By NASPL Insights Online

Published February 17, 2026

 

Arizona Lottery

Anna Hunt

Legal Services and Compliance Manager

The Arizona Lottery is preparing for Problem Gambling Awareness Month 2026 by continuing to focus on education, awareness, and access to help. Throughout March, we will share responsible gaming messaging across our website, social media, and other communications, highlighting warning signs and promoting resources such as the Arizona Problem Gambling Helpline (1-800-NEXT-STEP) and text support options.

We also plan to reinforce responsible gaming information with staff and retail partners as part of our ongoing commitment to player well-being and the WLA Responsible Gaming Framework. We appreciate the opportunity to share ideas with the membership and look forward to the upcoming NCPG sessions.

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Colorado Lottery

Amanda Quintana

Player Health Manager

For Problem Gambling Awareness Month, the Colorado Lottery will conduct its annual awareness campaign focused on increasing awareness of problem gambling and the local and national support available. Throughout March, the Lottery will amplify problem gambling resources across the play environment, including point-of-sale messaging, digital channels, and select print materials. PGAM messaging will also be featured in the retailer newsletter, on the Lottery’s website through a dedicated news story, and through press outreach, including press releases and media interviews, to help normalize conversations about problem gambling and encourage help-seeking when needed.In addition to awareness and communications efforts, the Lottery will actively support and participate in partner-led PGAM activities across the state. This includes supporting service provider events and co-hosting an awareness day at the Capitol, where operators and problem gambling service providers will share information about the prevention, treatment, and recovery support available to individuals and families impacted by gambling harm. These efforts reflect the Lottery’s commitment to collaboration, public education, and responsible operations, while reinforcing the importance of player health as part of its broader mission to serve the public interest.

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Connecticut Lottery

Arthur Mongillo

Manager of Responsible Gaming and Social Impact

The Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC) plans to undertake a number of initiatives to raise awareness of problem gambling warning signs, promote available support resources, and equip employees and retailers with the tools and confidence to respond appropriately.

Internally, our President/CEO issues an all-staff message underscoring the importance of Problem Gambling Awareness Month. PGAM activities are further highlighted through internal communications, including the employee newsletter and the annual Responsible Gaming/Board Report. During March, CLC conducts a mandatory all-staff awareness training in partnership with the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG) and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) Problem Gambling Services division. A corresponding responsible gaming training refresh is also provided to CLC’s more than 2,800 retail partners statewide.

Player-facing efforts are reinforced through enhanced digital and in-store messaging and by highlighting responsible gaming tools available both online and at retail. In addition, CLC will leverage its partnership with the University of Connecticut to feature student athletes from the men’s and women’s basketball teams in a Problem Gambling Awareness Month public service announcement.

CLC also works collaboratively with CCPG, DMHAS, and other stakeholders to secure an annual proclamation from Governor Ned Lamont recognizing March as Problem Gambling Awareness Month in Connecticut. Throughout the month, CLC participates in PGAM awareness events across the state and shares educational content and cross-promotes resources, including the Connecticut Problem Gambling Helpline operated by CCPG.

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Florida Lottery

Amber Seale

Deputy Secretary of Marketing

The Florida Lottery is proud to participate in Problem Gambling Awareness Month again this year! As we prepare for PGAM, our Marketing Department is currently planning the following initiatives to run throughout the month of March:

We will support Problem Gambling Awareness Month by promoting our Play Responsibly messaging across multiple channels. On social media, we will share three to four posts per platform – Facebook, Instagram, and X. Our Play Responsibly out-of-home messaging will continue to run in rotation on digital billboards throughout March. We will also feature PGAM messaging on television through live reads, draw crawls, carrier station banners, and interviews. We also have a dedicated Play Responsibly page on our website, which players can easily access with the "Play Responsibly" tab on our homepage year-round – which we will encourage our players to visit on our social posts highlighting PGAM.

Our Communications Department will issue a press release highlighting our Play Responsibly messaging and inform players of our involvement with PGAM, along with a social post to our LinkedIn page to raise awareness for the government agencies, lottery agencies, and educators that follow us.

Hoosier Lottery

Sarah Taylor

Executive Director

The Hoosier Lottery’s Problem Gambling Awareness Month campaign will center on promoting our Player Health Screening, which utilizes the Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen. This tool provides players with an accessible and destigmatized way to check in on their gaming behaviors, encourage positive play, and increase awareness of gambling-related harm. Players who complete the screening will have the opportunity to win one of five Positive Play Prize Packs, containing a backpack, scarf, beanie, lunchbox, tumbler, notebook, and four Indianapolis Indians tickets.

In addition to our player‑facing initiatives, we are also prioritizing internal engagement and education. We will host a presentation from a leading Indiana University researcher from their Indiana Problem Gambling Awareness Program to share findings from their Adult Gambling Behaviors in Indiana Survey with our staff. PGAM messaging and updates will also be shared internally through our company newsletter to support awareness and a responsible gaming culture.

Our retail partners will receive PGAM information as well, including guidance on spreading awareness and offering resources to players who may be experiencing gambling-related harm.

Our PGAM efforts will be amplified through a comprehensive marketing campaign using multiple channels, including billboard and radio advertisements, a Positive Play PSA commercial during live draws, website and in-app pop‑up ads, a homepage feature on our website, email module, paid social media posts, printed and digital retail advertising, and Positive Play branded giveaway items at promotional events.

Kentucky Lottery

Terry Sebastian

Vice President, Communications and Public Relations

March’s nationally focused Problem Gambling Awareness Month always provides the Kentucky Lottery the opportunity to amplify our responsible gambling efforts with our internal and external stakeholders.

We are once again digitally engaging players and retailers through our Positive Play initiatives. We will be hosting a virtual lunch-and-learn with employees on the role they play to raise education and awareness with our players through our company-wide responsible gambling initiatives. Our Research Department will be conducting its annual RG survey with our players. Our RG Committee will be hosting the new Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling Director to hear about her RG vision for Kentucky and the Kentucky Lottery partnership. We will share the accomplishments of this meeting with our employees. Members of our leadership team will be visiting RiverValley Behavioral Health, the local nonprofit that oversees and manages the RG hotlines for our players. Additionally, we are sponsoring the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling’s Annual Educational and Awareness Conference, which, in part, provides training for behavioral health counselors to ensure more support services are offered across every region of the state.   

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Louisiana Lottery

Jakeyla Chavis

Communications Specialist

Throughout the month, the Louisiana Lottery will post Problem Gambling Awareness messaging weekly across all social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and X. Problem Gambling Awareness posters will also be displayed at all regional offices to reinforce responsible play messaging in person. In addition, responsible play messages will be distributed to radio stations statewide, and a Problem Gambling Awareness Month news release will be shared with media outlets across Louisiana to help broaden awareness.

Nebraska Lottery

Neil Watson

Marketing and Communications Specialist III

For the 2026 Problem Gambling Awareness Month, the Nebraska Lottery is planning to raise awareness via ticket messaging, social media posts, and information on our website. From March 1-15, all Nebraska Lottery Lotto tickets will print with the following message: “March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month. Learn more at nelottery.com.” We’ll also be using the PGAM graphics for a series of social media posts. And finally, a slide and article detailing our PGAM activities, links to treatment resources, and warning signs of problem gambling will be posted at nelottery.com.

Pennsylvania Lottery

Diana Dietz

Deputy Communications Director

During Problem Gambling Awareness Month in March 2026 and throughout the year, the Pennsylvania Lottery remains committed to raising awareness about problem gambling and connecting players with tools and resources to prevent and address gambling-related harms. Throughout March, the Lottery will share PGAM messaging across its social media platforms and continue to feature billboard and television advertising reminding players about the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline. The Lottery will also engage its network of nearly 10,000 retailer partners statewide by reinforcing requirements to monitor vending units for underage play and sharing information on recognizing warning signs of problem gambling and available support services.

In collaboration with our responsible gambling partners at the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, and the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania, Inc., the Lottery plans to help officially launch PGAM in Pennsylvania with a kickoff event anticipated at the Pennsylvania State Capitol (date to be determined), along with additional community outreach activities. Finally, the Lottery is pursuing a media appearance on a local morning television program serving central Pennsylvania to further raise public awareness of PGAM, promote responsible play, and highlight resources available to individuals and families affected by gambling-related harms.

Texas Lottery

Teresa Edwards

Retailer Development/Responsible Gambling Coordinator

By working alongside NCPG and our network of over 19,000 retailers throughout the year and particularly during PGAM, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) Lottery & Charitable Bingo Division helps connect consumers with problem gambling resources. Texas Lottery PGAM communications begin in February with a brief pre-campaign awareness survey to retailers via email, terminal messages, and a retailer newsletter. This year, the survey can easily by accessed using a QR code to SurveyMonkey. A news release to over 1,600 media outlets will announce Texas Lottery participation in PGAM.

Throughout March at least five unique weekly messages will be sent to our over 19,000 retailer terminals, players accessing our social media accounts, and to the over 1,100 employees of TDLR, Lottery operator Brightstar, and our advertising agency Third Ear. The Texas Lottery’s website, Texas Lottery App and in-store electronic messaging will feature PGAM throughout the month. Lottery sales representatives will be reminded repeatedly to encourage retailers to participate in the survey and to read and share the weekly terminal messages, Positive Play brochures, and Tips for Positive Play.

Virginia Lottery

John Hagerty

Senior Public Affairs Specialist

Over the years, the Virginia Lottery has developed a pretty robust portfolio of public awareness tactics for PGAM. Our main focus is to raise awareness of the existence of problem gambling and encourage healthy play (“Know Your Limits”), while working with the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling and spotlighting resources available to people who may have a problem. All our RG assets include the Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline number.

Last year we introduced a new PSA, which was honored with a NASPL Batchy Award. We’ll be distributing that PSA again this year to statewide media outlets. Some of the other tactics we are preparing include social media, a paid media campaign, outdoor billboards, streaming video and audio, programmatic digital, ticket messages, employee education including an internal webinar, retailer education, an op ed in a major Virginia newspaper, ticket messages, and twice-daily mentions by our draw show hosts.

Wisconsin Lottery

Sacha Pakes

Marketing and Awareness Programs Specialist

Working with more than 3,700 Wisconsin Lottery retailers across the state, the Lottery plans to run a multimedia campaign in support of Problem Gambling Awareness Month including Lottoview (digital display) video messaging and poster placement at retailer locations; radio spots throughout the state and on the Lottery’s YouTube channel; print ads in community publications; and social media and Players Club newsletter content.

The Lottery will also fund four scholarships for the Wisconsin Council of Problem Gambling's annual statewide conference. These scholarships provide conference registrations for people who might not otherwise be able to attend.

Each layer of Wisconsin’s strategy observes Problem Gambling Awareness Month and informs the public about the problem gambling helpline, text number, and the WCPG website. Help is available at 800-GAMBLE-5. Online chatting and texting (850-888-HOPE) are also available.