Dealing with Problem Gambling Webinar Series Spring 2026

2/26/2026 - Practical Tools You can Use to Talk about Gambling Addiction and the Brain

Presenter: Balodis and Querney

“I can’t stop gambling…every time I lose, I keep coming back…why?” “It’s not fun anymore, so why do I feel like I need to gamble?” “How do features of a slot machine affect my brain? “Why does my loved one keep gambling even when they’ve lost everything?” How do you respond to these kinds of questions? This session will describe Brain Connections: tools you can use to educate people about the brain and gambling addiction. Brain Connections (www.brainconnections.ca) was developed as a partnership between problem gambling researchers and clinicians, with invaluable input from people with lived and living expertise. Our suite of tools includes an engaging animated video, clinical handouts for healthcare professionals, and educational handouts (called BE Briefs) for the public, including educators, researchers, responsible gambling specialists, or anyone who has questions about how gambling addiction develops and impacts the brain.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn about the Brain Connections tools and how these apply in your setting.
2. Accurately answer commonly asked questions about gambling and the brain • Increase your confidence and competence in talking about gambling neurobiology.

Agenda:

12:00-12:05 pm – Introductions of presenters and helpline information
12:05-12:45 pm – Lecture on material
12:45-12:55 pm – Discussion questions, case presentation, interaction (as needed)
12:55-1:00 pm – Closing comments

---

3/26/2026 - Money, Financial Management & Disordered Gambling

Presenter: Balodis and Querney

Problem gamblers often experience a “pathological” relationship with money, resulting in financial devastation that affects their entire families. Financial difficulties become inherent with those that suffer from Gambling Disorder. Learn the basic concepts, initial steps and unique perspective when providing financial counseling to clients & their families that suffer from disordered gambling.

Learning Objectives:

1. Know the two types of money when working with a problem gambler connected to problem gambling and Gambling Disorder.
2. Understand four underlying themes of family financial gambling • Know three reasons why it’s important to have the money “talk.”

Agenda:

12:00-12:05 pm – Introductions of presenters and helpline information
12:05-12:45 pm – Lecture on material
12:45-12:55 pm – Discussion questions, case presentation, interaction (as needed)
12:55-1:00 pm – Closing comments

---

4/30/2026 - Prediction Markets and Behavioral Addiction: The Gamblification of Reality

Presenter: Kitty Martz

Prediction markets are reshaping how we engage with sports, politics, finance, and culture. What looks like “informed speculation” can evolve into compulsive wagering behavior that blends gambling, gaming, and social media reinforcement. This training equips mental health professionals to recognize emerging patterns of prediction market harm, assess risk factors. and apply evidence-informed strategies to support clients.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify clinical warning signs specific to prediction market involvement
2. Apply practical counseling interventions

Agenda:

12:00-12:05 pm – Introductions of presenters and helpline information
12:05-12:45 pm – Lecture on material
12:45-12:55 pm – Discussion questions, case presentation, interaction (as needed)
12:55-1:00 pm – Closing comments

---

5/28/2026 - Bridging Roles: Ethics and Boundaries in Peer Support and Clinical Practice for Problem Gambling

Presenter: Joshua Hampton & Robby Fuqua

As problem gambling services continue to expand, interdisciplinary collaboration between clinical professionals and peer support specialists has become increasingly essential. While both roles aim to support recovery and improve quality of life, they operate within distinct ethical frameworks and boundary expectations that can at times overlap—or conflict. This co-facilitated session brings together a clinician and a peer support specialist to explore the similarities and differences in ethical responsibilities, boundary setting, and role clarity when working with individuals experiencing gambling-related harm. Participants will examine how lived experience, mutuality, and self-disclosure shape peer support relationships, compared to the structured, treatment-oriented approaches commonly found in clinical practice. This session will also highlight common ethical dilemmas, potential boundary challenges, and strategies for maintaining integrity while fostering collaboration.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify key distinctions between peer and clinical roles
2. Apply ethical decision-making strategies that will strengthen collaborative practices that honor both disciplines while enhancing support for individuals impacted by problem gambling.

Agenda:

12:00-12:05 pm – Introductions of presenters and helpline information
12:05-12:45 pm – Lecture on material
12:45-12:55 pm – Discussion questions, case presentation, interaction (as needed)
12:55-1:00 pm – Closing comments

---

6/18/2026 - Triple Literacy Approach: Brain Health, Media, and Mental Health in Youth Gambling Prevention

Presenter: Alison Wood

Youth gambling behaviors are escalating at an alarming rate as online gambling products and services have become ubiquitously accessible—available 24/7 through smartphones, tablets, and computers. Compounding this concern, gambling mechanics and persuasive design techniques have permeated the digital landscape, appearing not only in traditional gambling platforms but also in gaming and social media environments. These design methods exploit vulnerabilities inherent to young people's developing brains, as well as other at-risk populations, particularly those who have experienced toxic stress. The neurological susceptibility of youth makes them especially prone to the addictive patterns these platforms are engineered to create. Empowerment through education is essential. By translating neuroscience into accessible youth prevention education—centering on brain health, addiction mechanisms, and stress responses—we can equip young people with critical understanding. Additionally, developing competencies in media literacy and mental health literacy can enable youth to make informed decisions about their behaviors and recognize how digital environments shape their overall health and wellbeing. This presentation will equip behavioral health clinicians, prevention professionals, school social workers, and teachers with essential knowledge to decode youth behaviors related to gambling, gaming, and digital media use. Through the integrated lens of brain health literacy, media literacy, and mental health literacy, participants will gain practical frameworks for supporting and protecting young people in an increasingly complex digital world.

Learning Objectives:

1. Decode the neuroscience: Identify how addiction, toxic stress, and persuasive design impact specific brain structures and functions in developing youth.
2. Embrace a literacy-based approach: Recognize and apply brain health, media, and mental health literacy as essential, interconnected components of effective youth prevention education.

Agenda:

12:00-12:05 pm – Introductions of presenters and helpline information
12:05-12:45 pm – Lecture on material
12:45-12:55 pm – Discussion questions, case presentation, interaction (as needed)
12:55-1:00 pm – Closing comments

Dr. Iris M. Balodis

Dr. Iris M. Balodis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. She is the Associate Director of the Peter Boris Centre for Addictions Research, the Associate Director of the Centre for Clinical Neuroscience as well as a faculty associate with the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research and Director of the Integrated Neuroscience of Motivation and Change (IN-MaC} Laboratory. As one of the founding members of the Ontario Gambling Research Society (OGRS), she is working with colleagues across the province to advance the theory, research, and practice of problem gambling research.  Her overall program of research covers different facets of reward and stress processing. Towards the goal of better understanding these processes, Dr. Balodis applies brain imaging, psychophysiological, behavioural and other approaches across various populations. This includes individuals with substance-based disorders, such as cannabis or alcohol use disorders, and non-substance-based disorders, including gambling disorder. Most recently, her research program is examining co-use of 
substances while gambling.

Deirdre Querney, MSW

Deirdre Querney, MSW, is a Registered Social Worker, Certified Problem Gambling Counsellor, and Canadian Certified Addiction Counsellor. Deirdre has over 25 years of experience in providing individual and group outpatient addiction treatment services. Since 2003, she has also taught in McMaster University's Professional Addiction Studies Program. Deirdre has a passion for knowledge translation in this field, and was awarded, along with her project partner Dr. Iris Balodis, the 2023 International Council on Responsible Gambling's Scientific Achievement Award and the 2024 Paula Goering Collaborative Research and Knowledge Translation Award in Mental Health and Addictions for their work on Brain Connections. Deirdre's other research interests include spirituality and addictions,
motherhood and addictions and cannabis knowledge translation.

Robby Fuqua

Robby Fuqua, LICSW, ICGC-I, got started at Bensinger, DuPont & Associates (BDA) in 2014 where he was as part of the C2C team which provides counseling services to those suffering from problem gambling issues. He conducted assessments, referral services, and other case management functions for several different state-funded problem gambling helplines. As the Training Specialist for the Responsible Gambling Department at Telus Health, Robby provides programs and workshops for clinicians treating gambling disorder. Robby also operates an online mental health practice which focuses on young adult males experiencing disordered gambling issues, Robby earned his Master's degree in Social Work from Boston College. He is a licensed clinical independent clinical worker in Massachusetts (LICSW) and International Certified Gambling Counselor (ICGC-I) that practices in Massachusetts & Illinois.

Kitty Martz, CGRM, CGAC II, IGRS, BARA, MBA

Kitty Martz is a gambling harm prevention advocate, executive leader, and public policy strategist with more than a decade of experience supporting individuals experiencing gambling-related harm. She holds an MBA from Cornell University and brings a strong business and systems-level perspective to issues at the intersection of finance, technology, and public health. 

Her work examines emerging markets through a regulatory and public health lens, focusing on market design, risk mitigation, and consumer protection. She was a featured speaker at TEDx Portland 2026 on prediction markets as a systemic issue, highlighting how financial innovation and regulatory gaps amplify harm at scale. 

Ms. Martz is the current Executive Director, Voices of Problem Gambling Recovery and President of the Oregon Council on Problem Gambling. She serves as a Certification Specialist for Mental Health and Addiction Certification Board of Oregon and she is a cofounder of the Lived Experience Collective, an alliance of individuals who have personal experience with gambling harm and now work in education, advocacy and system reform. 

Problem Gambling Continuing Education

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6642.  Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.  Each successfully completed webinar qualifies for 3.5 contact hours.

This course is pending approval from the North Carolina Addiction Specialist Professional Practice Board for 3.5 contact hours.