Responsible Gaming and Innovation Case Competition

Hosted by the Center for Strategic Entrepreneurship, in partnership with the Department of Applied Psychology and Rehabilitation Counseling.

Two teams win up to $5,000 each

Start your team application

Core principle

Every solution must educate, prevent, and protect.

No solution may promote, encourage, normalize, or facilitate wagering.

The challenge

Interdisciplinary student teams research, design, and validate solutions that address gambling and sports betting related risks and decision-making behaviors in the Coppin campus community.

Eligibility

Every team member must be a Coppin State University undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in the Fall 2027 term.
Teams must have 4 to 5 members representing at least 4 different majors and at least 3 different colleges. Double majors count once, using the major the student lists first.
Each team designates one Project Manager (primary contact, accountable for deadlines) and one Implementation Lead (owns the pilot plan and, if the team wins, leads implementation).
A student may join only one team.
Students employed by, or with a financial relationship with, a sports wagering operator (including the funding partner) are not eligible.
No roster changes once you have applied.

Five case deliverables

1
Problem Identification and Research Validation
Show the problem is real for Coppin students, backed by primary and secondary research.
2
Proposed Solution
An original response to the root causes your research uncovered.
3
Implementation and Business Model
Stakeholders, a one-term pilot timeline, and a budget of $5,000 or less.
4
Ethics and Compliance Considerations
Privacy, equity, university and NCAA rules, and referral pathways.
5
Impact Measurement
Measurable outcomes with baselines, targets, and a feasible data plan.

Solution requirements

Solutions must focus on education, prevention, informed decision-making, and student wellbeing. No solution may promote, encourage, normalize, or facilitate wagering.
Solutions must be implementable at Coppin within one academic term with a budget of $5,000 or less.
Solutions must be original to the team. Teams may adapt existing models with clear credit and an explanation of what is new.
Any research involving Coppin students must follow the Research and Wellbeing Guardrails below.

Use of AI tools and outside help

Teams may use AI tools for brainstorming, editing, and analysis, and must disclose how they were used in a short statement in the proposal appendix.
Mentors, faculty, and CSE staff may advise but may not write deliverables.
All data, quotes, and statistics must be real and cited. Fabricated data results in disqualification.

Award conditions

Winning teams must sign an award agreement and commit to implementing their pilot in the Spring 2027 term.
Award funds are held and spent through university procurement. No cash is paid to students.
Book vouchers are issued to winning team members through the university bookstore and may be reported to Financial Aid.
Decisions of the judging panel are final.

Research and Wellbeing Guardrails

Teams will survey and talk with fellow students about a sensitive behavior. These guardrails protect respondents, protect student-athletes from compliance exposure, and protect the teams themselves. They are required for any research involving Coppin students.

Research guardrails (required)

1. IRB determination
CSE requests one IRB determination covering competition research as an educational, program-improvement activity. Teams that want to publish or present results outside Coppin must seek their own IRB review.
2. Mentor approval first
Every survey, interview guide, or focus group protocol is approved by the team's faculty mentor before it is used. Mentors escalate anything sensitive to the Applied Psychology liaison.
3. Use the CSE survey template
The template includes the standard consent statement and resource footer.
4. Anonymous by default
Do not collect names, student ID numbers, email addresses, or other identifiers alongside responses. Participants must be 18 or older.
5. No clinical screening
Teams may not administer clinical gambling screening tools or diagnose anyone. Screening belongs to the Mental Health and Gambling Risk Screening Initiative.
6. Protect student-athletes
Do not collect sport, team, or athlete status in the same instrument as questions about personal betting behavior. Questions to student-athletes should focus on awareness, education needs, and perceptions, not personal wagering.
7. Always share resources
Every survey, interview, and focus group ends with the Coppin Counseling Center contact and the 1-800-GAMBLER helpline.
8. Secure storage
Store data only in university accounts (Coppin Microsoft 365 or Google). Delete raw data within 60 days after Finals unless a winning team needs it for the pilot and the Director approves.

Wellbeing protocol for all events and research

A Counseling Center representative or trained Applied Psychology faculty member is present at the Kickoff Bootcamp and Finals.
Resource cards (Counseling Center, 1-800-GAMBLER, crisis line 988) are available at every event and linked by QR code on every slide deck and printed program.
If a participant or research respondent discloses distress or a gambling concern, the team member or staff member listens, does not counsel, offers resources, and notifies the faculty mentor or Project Manager the same day so a warm hand-off can be offered. Information is shared only with those who need it to help.
If anyone appears to be in immediate danger, call Campus Police and 911.

How proposals are judged

Every judge first answers an ethics gate. Then each criterion is rated 1 to 5 (5 Exceptional, 4 Strong, 3 Proficient, 2 Developing, 1 Not evident).

Final score: 30% Round 1 average plus 70% Finals average. The top two teams win.

Need support?

If gambling is affecting you or someone you know, free and confidential help is available 24/7: call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.

Coppin counseling

Coppin State students can also reach the campus counseling center. Contact details coming soon.

Questions? Visit the FAQ or contact the Center for Strategic Entrepreneurship.