The International Center for Responsible Gaming on Thursday announced recipients of its 2026 ICRG Achievement Awards that recognize exceptional contributions to gambling research, education, mentorship, and the advancement of evidence-based approaches to gambling-related harm.
Professor Sally M. Gainsbury, PhD, of the University of Sydney, has been selected to receive the Howard J. Shaffer Scientific Achievement Award, while Paulette J. O’Gilvie, PhD, MBA, CPS-G, IGPS, CCGC, of American Baptist College, will receive the Education and Mentorship Award.
The award was renamed in 2026 in honor of Howard J. Shaffer, PhD, whose scholarship, leadership, and mentorship “profoundly influenced the modern field of gambling studies,” according to a release.
The recipients will be honored during the ICRG Achievement Awards Luncheon September 28 as part of the 27th Annual ICRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas.
“Dr. Gainsbury and Dr. O’Gilvie exemplify two of the qualities that are essential to advancing this field: rigorous scientific inquiry and a commitment to developing the people who will carry that work forward,” ICRG President Michael Soll said in a statement. “Sally’s research has had an extraordinary influence on gambling science and policy internationally, while Paulette is creating new pathways for students and communities to engage with gambling prevention, behavioral health, and research. We are delighted to recognize both of them this year.”
Gainsbury has been selected as the first recipient of the renamed Howard J. Shaffer Scientific Achievement Award, recognizing a researcher whose body of work has made a significant and sustained contribution to advancing gambling science.
Over 15 years, Gainsbury has developed an international research program spanning igaming, responsible gambling tools, self-exclusion, help-seeking, digital interventions, gambling treatment, measurement, and public policy. She has authored more than 140 peer-reviewed publications, and her research has been widely cited in scientific literature and incorporated into government policy and responsible gambling initiatives internationally.
Gainsbury also leads the University of Sydney’s Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic and serves as principal investigator of an ICRG Center of Excellence focused on improving engagement with technology-based tools designed to prevent and reduce gambling harm. As co-editor-in-chief of International Gambling Studies and a mentor to emerging researchers, she has helped strengthen the rigor, reach, and international profile of gambling research.
O’Gilvie has been selected to receive the 2026 ICRG Education and Mentorship Award in recognition of her leadership in gambling education, commitment to mentoring students and emerging professionals, and efforts to expand gambling prevention and behavioral health education within historically underserved communities.
At American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee, O’Gilvie has created new opportunities for undergraduate students to study gambling through the interconnected lenses of behavioral health, public health, prevention, and social justice. She developed “Foundations of Gambling Behavior, Prevention and Responsible Gaming,” an undergraduate course that places gambling within the broader context of mental health, addictions, substance use, harm reduction, responsible gaming, and community well-being.
O’Gilvie has created opportunities for students to participate in research, attend professional conferences, present their work, engage with national leaders, and develop professional identities and networks within the gambling prevention and behavioral health fields. In 2026, her undergraduate students presented their work at the National Council on Problem Gambling conference.
Her scholarship examines the ecosystem of urban casino gambling, including its intersections with health equity, poverty, casino proximity, and other addictive disorders. Through her teaching, scholarship, professional engagement, and community service, O’Gilvie has worked to ensure that gambling education reaches students and communities that have historically been underrepresented in the field.
