As part of the organization’s effort to educate youth on the risks of gambling, the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico has produced 2024-2025 student planners. These planners cover the current school year with pages to note assignments, important dates, and notes.
The planners also include information on the risks of gambling. Studies have shown that people who start to gamble earlier in life are at a greater risk of developing a gambling compulsion.
Legal consequences in New Mexico for underage gambling can include misdemeanor charges and fines. Other consequences aren’t as tangible, but may include declining academic success, lack of interest in social and extracurricular activities, anxiety and depression, and mounting debt. Gambling activity can also be associated with other high-risk activities among youth, like drug and alcohol use.
“We want our state’s teens to focus on education and part of that is understanding that gambling is a form of entertainment for adults and only when when it does not interfere with daily life or the ability to pay bills and provide for your family,” said Shannon Dictson, president of the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico. She is also the responsible gaming coordinator for the Mescalero Responsible Gaming Program and began the student planner project several years ago, focused on the Mescalero area.
In 2024, the planners became a statewide effort, she says. “We would love to share these with any students who are in middle or high school. If you’d like to receive a copy, contact me and we will get it to you.”
To receive a student planner, use the RGANM.com contact form, directing the email to the President. In the Comments, include your name and mailing address as well as how many teens are in the home.
