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Pennsylvania has launched its first dedicated case management program for people affected by problem gambling. It gives individuals and their families access to practical support in addition to outpatient treatment.
The program expands Pennsylvania’s existing responsible gambling resources by connecting people with trained case managers who can help address issues that interfere with treatment and recovery.
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) announced the service on Aug. 27. Nearly 15 organizations are currently providing case management across the state in person or virtually.
Case management addresses barriers to recovery
Unlike outpatient treatment, case management focuses on non-clinical needs that can create barriers to care or affect a person’s recovery. Case managers assess those needs, coordinate care, and connect clients with appropriate service providers.
Support can include access to housing, transportation, child care, employment assistance, health care, and financial literacy resources. Giving each participant a consistent point of contact is intended to make those services easier to navigate.
The program recognizes that gambling-related harm can extend beyond financial losses and destabilize a person’s daily life and relationships. Those consequences can make it harder to attend treatment consistently and sustain long-term recovery.
DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones said the state developed the service after hearing that counseling sessions were frequently being used to address clients’ non-clinical needs.
“By offering case management, we will help bridge the gap between treatment and outside factors that can affect someone’s ability to recover.”
How Pennsylvanians can access case management
Pennsylvanians can search DDAP’s online provider locator by county. If no contracted provider is available nearby, they can call the state’s 1-800-GAMBLER helpline for a referral to a provider offering telehealth services. All contracted providers offer interpretation and translation services.
Before the program launched, callers to the hotline were offered only outpatient treatment. DDAP’s 2024-25 annual report found that 38% of callers seeking help were referred to treatment. Among people using the helpline’s text or chat options, 42% received treatment referrals.
Callers are now offered both outpatient treatment and case management services through the same helpline.
Services are available to adults and adolescents at risk of developing gambling problems, people with a gambling disorder, and family members affected by someone else’s gambling.
Eligible uninsured and underinsured Pennsylvanians can receive funded outpatient treatment and case management services through DDAP-contracted providers. The department will use Pennsylvania’s Compulsive and Problem Gambling Treatment Fund as the payer of last resort when insurance does not cover case management.
DDAP identified the following organizations among the nearly 15 providers offering case management:
- Allentown CTC (Lehigh County)
- Behavior by Design (York County)
- Caron Counseling (Berks County)
- Catholic Charities (Erie County)
- LaRocco Counseling (Blair County)
- Northern Tier (Bradford and Sullivan counties)
- The Open Door (Indiana County)
- Sobriety Solutions (Philadelphia and Montgomery counties)
- Wyoming Valley Drug and Alcohol (Lackawanna and Susquehanna counties)
The department also identified Penn State Health Advancement in Recovery as a case management provider serving Dauphin County.
Record number sought help for problem gambling in 2025
The Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania said 2025 set a record for the number of people seeking help, with thousands of individuals and families contacting the helpline.
DDAP’s 2024-25 annual report found that 450 uninsured or underinsured individuals and affected family members received outpatient problem gambling treatment during the state fiscal year.
Pennsylvania had 42 providers offering outpatient problem gambling treatment in person or through telehealth at the time the report was issued. The new case management network complements outpatient treatment by helping people address non-clinical needs that can affect their recovery.
