Tennessee offers $3 million in competitive grants to prevent gambling among young people
The state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services announced the funding on Oct. 30. Nonprofits, public agencies, colleges and licensed providers may propose projects, and half of the money is recurring.
Nashville. Tennessee's Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is inviting nonprofits and other organizations to propose projects that prevent gambling among young people, with $3 million available in competitive grants, the department announced on Oct. 30.
The money is split into two pools, $1.5 million in recurring funding and $1.5 million in one-time funding, according to the department's announcement as carried by WKSR, a radio station in Pulaski. Proposals will be reviewed, scored and awarded competitively.
Who can apply and for what
The department is seeking proposals from public agencies, nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, community-based organizations and licensed providers with expertise in the strategy area they propose.
The priorities come from the Youth Gambling Prevention and Awareness Work Group, which brought together state leaders from behavioral health, education, prevention, health care, youth-serving organizations, treatment, research and gambling regulation. The group called for stronger prevention and messaging, youth and parent engagement, workforce training, school-based education, early identification, treatment and referral pathways, recovery support, data and evaluation, and closer work among agencies.
The funded projects are meant to build the evidence, partnerships, resources and services for what the department calls a coordinated, youth-focused response to gambling-related harm.
The published reports of the announcement do not give a deadline for proposals or a range for individual awards.
Why the state is acting
In a 2024-25 survey, 15 percent of participating Tennessee students said they had gambled in the previous 30 days, and the average age at which young people started was about 12, according to 3B Media News in Crossville, which reported the announcement the same day. State officials pointed to gambling platforms, online advertising and features of mobile games as risks to minors, the outlet reported.
Free treatment for gambling problems is available across the state through partners such as The Gambling Clinic, 3B Media News reported. This summer the department also awarded $4.3 million to the Tennessee Institute for Gambling Education and Research at the University of Memphis for its statewide network of treatment clinics, offered in person and by telehealth, and for prevention research, the university said.
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