Seeking Understanding: Problem Gambling Awareness Month 2025

The annual observance of Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) begins on March 1st, 2025. PGAM plays a vital role in enhancing public understanding, breaking down barriers to care, and fostering open discussions about the impact of gambling on individuals, families, and communities. It unites various stakeholders, including public health organizations, advocacy groups, professional sports leagues, and gambling operators. Through this collective effort, we aim to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and increase access to resources, ultimately creating a foundation to support those affected by problem gambling year-round. 

Problem Gambling Awareness Month 2025 

PGAM is intentionally aligned with the NCAA basketball tournament, a time when gambling is a frequent topic of conversation. March is a prime opportunity for organizations to promote a better understanding of what is and isn’t true about problem gambling. As millions of people engage with the tournament, it offers a unique moment to raise awareness about the risks of gambling, educate the public, and challenge common misconceptions. By leveraging this heightened attention, PGAM helps foster open discussions, reduce stigma, and increase access to resources, ensuring that conversations about problem gambling are timely and ongoing throughout the year. 

This year’s PGAM theme, “Seeking Understanding,” aims to raise awareness of problem gambling as a serious yet often misunderstood mental health condition. Building understanding within the general public is essential, but dispelling long-held myths requires both patience and persistence. Overcoming misconceptions is crucial to fostering a more accurate understanding of problem gambling and its impact. 

Last year’s PGAM theme, “Every Story Matters,” highlighted the importance of sharing the personal experiences of those impacted by problem gambling. This year, we can build on that momentum and begin addressing some of the questions that storytelling can raise for our audiences. While these questions may be uncomfortable, repetitive, or challenging to answer, it is our responsibility as advocates and awareness-builders to engage with them thoughtfully and persistently. 

Here are some tips addressing questions about problem gambling during #PGAM2025: 

1. Stick to the facts. Avoid fearmongering or sensationalism. Whenever possible, use statistics and research to support your points. Not sure where to start?  NCPG’s PGAM Toolkit has several examples. 

1. Elevate lived experience. Personal stories hold a unique power that transcends the confines of statistics and figures. While data may provide a broad understanding of the prevalence of problem gambling, it is the personal narratives that allow others to relate, empathize, and, most importantly, understand the lived experiences of those impacted by problem gambling. 

1. Approach each question as an educational opportunity. Use every question as an opportunity to educate and promote understanding. Some questions may include stigmatizing language, but this often comes from a place of curiosity, not malice. Respond from a place of patience and empathy. 

1. Build compassion. Problem gambling is a misunderstood and often stigmatized mental health condition. Frame conversations about those impacted by gambling through a “person first” lens. By focusing on the individual rather than the condition, we emphasize their humanity and personal experiences. This approach fosters compassion, challenges harmful stereotypes, and helps shift the narrative away from judgment. 

1. Promote the availability of treatment resources. Many Americans are unaware of the growing number of resources available to those struggling with problem gambling, including the National Problem Gambling Helpline (1-800-GAMBLER). Use #PGAM2025 to raise awareness not only of the issue itself but also of the critical support services that exist for individuals and families affected by gambling. 

This March, the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) invites you to join us in raising awareness of problem gambling as a serious yet often misunderstood mental health condition. By working together, we can inspire empathy, break down barriers to treatment, and ensure those affected have access to the support they need. Your participation can make a meaningful difference through sharing information, engaging in conversations, or promoting available resources. Let’s work collectively to raise awareness and bring about lasting change during #PGAM2025 and beyond. 

Learn more about Problem Gambling Awareness Month at www.NCPGambling.org/PGAM.