Research Scientist University of Michigan Medical School Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Background: College students may be particularly vulnerable to behavioral addictions, and the prevalence of gambling disorders, particularly related to online gambling, has increased among college students. Students struggling with gambling disorder, and their concerned family members, may not know where to seek help. Student counseling centers are well positioned to assist college students with recognizing and treating gambling disorders. Objective: To document the presence of information about gambling disorder services on the webpages of student counseling centers for Michigan colleges. Design/Methods: In October 2025, we systematically reviewed the content of public-facing web pages for the student counseling centers for 41 four-year colleges and universities in Michigan. We documented the types of services offered and the specific conditions mentioned, noting whether gambling was mentioned in any way. We also reviewed resource links to document any external resources or links that mentioned gambling-related topics or services. Results: All 41 colleges had a student counseling center webpage. Services offered, as noted on the webpage, included counseling/therapy (41/41), support groups (23/41), online self-help (17/41), self-assessments (9/41), medication management (6/41), addiction treatment (4/41), and testing accommodations (2/41). Conditions mentioned include anxiety (32/41), depression (31/41), substance use disorder (31/41), sexual assault (25/41), and behavioral addiction (5/41). Only two webpages mentioned gambling specifically, both as an example of behavioral addictions. Three additional colleges had references to gambling disorder in their links to external resources (Gamblers Anonymous, the National Council on Problem Gambling, and CollegeGambling.org).
Conclusion(s): Despite gambling disorder being a known problem for college students, only five of 41 college student counseling center webpages even mentioned gambling disorder. Though we cannot determine whether services are unavailable or are simply not labelled as being targeted to gambling-related problems, college students who are looking for help with a gambling disorder may perceive that services are not available through their on-campus counseling center. College counseling centers should asses the adequacy of their services for behavioral addictions, and ensure that their website includes information about how students can get help for a gambling disorder.
