Congratulations to Change The Game Ohio & Dr. Heather Chapman!

Published: July 22, 2021
At Before You Bet, we’re always immensely proud of the work Ohio is doing when it comes to responsible gambling. And we’re pleased to share that Ohio was recognized with two prestigious awards at the 2021 National Council on Problem Gambling’s annual conference award ceremony!
Change The Game Ohio, Ohio’s youth gambling prevention campaign, won the 2020 Corporate People’s Choice Award for the most popular print public awareness message of 2020. If that award alone weren’t enough, during the same award ceremony, Ohio’s own Heather Chapman, Ph.D., ICGC II, BACC of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC Veteran’s Addiction Recovery Center, received the Dr. Robert Custer Lifetime Award for Direct Service.
In order to win the People’s Choice award, organizations needed to provide a print version of a problem gambling or responsible gambling public service or paid advertisement. The criteria for the winner was based on its ability to reach gamblers and their families, no matter if the campaign was local, regional, or national. Ohio for Responsible Gambling, a collaborative made up of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Ohio Lottery Commission and Ohio Casino Control Commission, along with coordinating partner Prevention Action Alliance and creative agency Origo Branding were please to share in this honor.
The Change The Game Ohio campaign provides tools, education, and resources about youth gaming and gambling for parents, educators, students, and prevention specialists in Ohio. If you’re interested in seeing the award-winning campaign, please visit changethegameohio.org.
We were also proud to see Dr. Chapman win the Dr. Robert Custer Lifetime Award for Direct Service. The award is named after the problem gambling pioneer Dr. Robert Custer and is only given out in exceptional circumstances when an individual exemplifies long-standing success in services to problem gamblers and their families.
Dr. Chapman has a wealth of knowledge and leadership in her role as Deputy Director, Clinical Psychologist, and Supervisor at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC Veteran’s Addiction Recovery Center. Since 1997, she’s served people who are struggling with a problem with gambling and other comorbid health issues in Ohio, ten other U.S. states, and even Canada. Additionally, Dr. Chapman serves on the Ohio Problem Gambling Advisory Board and is the state’s Stage 2 clinician trainer for Ohio’s Gambling Treatment Qualified professionals.
That only scratches the surface of Dr. Chapman’s experience and contribution to preventing problem gambling in Ohio and around the world. To learn more about the critical work she does for responsible gambling, visit va.gov/directory/guide/facility.asp?ID=31.
We are so proud of the way Ohio continues to lead the way in responsible gambling and can’t wait to see what our state accomplishes in the future. To learn more about responsible gambling in Ohio and access important tools and resources, please visit BeforeYouBet.org.