Overall, the research suggests that nearly 5 million British people have experienced harm linked to gambling, even accounting for the overlap between problem gamblers and those they affect. Gambling behaviour is increasingly a subject of public health and policy interest. There is widespread recognition that some people who engage in gambling activity can experience harm. In the 2016 Scottish Health Survey, 66% of adults had spent money on gambling activity in the 12 months prior to interview. If you have a loved one with a gambling problem, support is available from Gam-Anon Scotland. The organisation has supportive, confidential meetings that are separate from Gamblers Anonymous meetings. You can also phone the Gam-Anon 24-hour helpline on 0370 050 8881. Visit the Gam-Anon Scotland website. According to a report released by the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) in 2017, as many as 430,000 Brits are struggling with gambling addiction. Understanding Gambling Addiction In order to fully grasp the seriousness of the issue, one needs to understand what problem gambling is in the first place.
Here at PokerJunkie we're committed to encouraging responsible gambling and ensuring anyone who feels they may have an issue with problem gambling can find the help they need.
Excessive gaming may result in gambling addiction, asocial behaviours or losing money you can't afford to lose. We urge all online poker players to play with caution and avoid online poker's possible pitfalls.
If you do feel you may have an issue with problem gambling, below we'll provide a list of problem gambling hotlines and some tools and resources you can use to help you on the road back to responsible gambling.
Problem Gambling Hotline - US & Canada
The National Council on Problem Gambling operates a network of call centers and provides problem gambling referrals for gamblers across the entire United States, Canada and the US Virgin Islands.
Help in the form of live chat, telephone chat and referral services is 100% confidential and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It can provide services for people via mobile text as well.
Call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700
Problem Gambling Helpline - UK
In the UK the National Gambling Helpline is available from 8 am to midnight, 7 days a week at 0808 8020 133.
Frontline GamCare Advisers will listen to your concerns and can immediately put you in touch with a trained counsellor for a face-to-face meeting or a phone call. All interaction and advice is entirely confidential information.
The GamCare NetLine also provides an online text ‘chat’ service for phones, tablets or computers. Treatment services are free for anyone over 16 in England, Scotland and Wales.
Problem Gambling Helpline - Australia
The Gambling Helpline number in Australia is 1-800-858-858 and is accessible 24 hours a day. Information and self-help tools to help alleviate problem gambling is provided confidentially to anyone in need.
Some Problem Gambling Signs
For some players it can be hard to decipher if and when gambling has become a problem. There are obviously different lines to cross for different people but there are some general questions (provided by Responsible Gambling associations) you can ask yourself to see if your gambling might have gone too far.
- Do you spend time thinking about gambling or planning a gambling activity?
- Do you need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to feel excited?
- Do you feel irritable or restless when you try to limit your gambling?
- Has gambling ever interfered with your work, school or any of your relationships?
- Do you ever feel anxious, sad or guilty about your gambling?
- Do you gamble until all your money is gone?
- Have you ever gambled with money that wasn't yours or was borrowed specifically to gamble?
- Have you ever gambled because you were bored?
If you answered yes to any of these questions it may be time to invest further in speaking with someone about problem gambling. Seeking help from family or friends is a great start but consulting someone with a trained background for professional help is essential to fully eliminating problem behaviours and getting back to proper health.
Reminder, help is provided free of charge at the services listed above and is available 24 hours a day in most cases. Before you make the next bet, make the call.
How Can I Begin to Solve a Gambling Problem?
While it may have begun to feel hopeless to ever turn things around it's never too late to seek help for problem gambling. The first step, in fact, is even just considering your gambling habits to be problematic.
Gambling Problem Scotland Map
While gambling problems can come in many shapes and forms and to various extremes, for gambling to be considered 'problematic' it only has to affect your life or those around you in a marginally negative way.
Once you recognize that your gambling is having a negative affect you can begin to make the mental adjustments needed to start changing your behaviour right away. Remember:
- You must make a decision to gamble - it doesn't just happen
- Gambling requires money, time and a game to gamble on
If you can remove any or all of the catalysts to begin gambling it can help start the process to recovery. Here are a few recommendations for all players on how to gamble more responsibly.
- Never play drunk. When you come home from a few rounds with your friends it's very tempting to sit down and play a little online. This is never a good idea.
- Never play tired. Poker requires a lot of levelheaded thinking. This is not what you'll be doing if you're tired.
- Never play angry. You cannot get back at the jerk in the office by losing your rent money playing online. Might as well not even try.
- Never play sad. When you feel sad, you'll evaluate reality with a bias. Every flop will look terrible and opponents always hold monsters. Even worse, you may get an urge to hurt yourself by throwing away money.
- Never risk money you need. If you play with money that you cannot do without, you're making a bad decisions and you will continue to make bad decisions in the game. You'll accelerate the process of losing the very money you need most.
- Never play under age. It goes without saying you shouldn't play poker or gamble anywhere, live or online, until you're of legal age in the country you live in. Put away dad's credit card before you ruin your life.
- Take regular breaks. Taking a five minute break every hour will set your priorities straight. Assess how you feel and what your game's like. If all's well, by all means sit down and play again. Until next break, that is.
- Set your limits. Decide beforehand how much you're allowed to lose and how long you'll be playing. Some poker sites allow you to set your own limits to your play, such as a maximum deposit per day or maximum wager per day. Use them. If you feel that you can't quit when you should, tell the poker room to block you for a period of time. They do this.
Help for Problem Gambling is Out There
If you or someone you know have a problem with gambling, there's help to get from people who know what it means to have a gaming problem. If you need help or just want to talk to someone, Poker Junkie recommends you to get in touch with one of the Problem Gambling hotlines listed above.
It's always 100% confidential, judgment-free and entirely committed to giving you the tools you need to change your situation for the better. Don't miss out on the opportunity to change your life.
People gamble for a whole range of reasons. While gambling moderately is not a problem, gambling can become an addiction and can be harmful to our mental health.
Why do we gamble?
People gamble for a variety of reasons, including:
- the buzz, the excitement, and the high adrenaline release
- the competitive element - trying to beat other players, the bookie, or the dealer
- the thrill of risk taking, of placing large bets
- to solve financial problems
- a way of escaping from stress or worries.
Sensible gambling
Some people say that there is no such thing as safe gambling. Others argue that gambling is like drinking alcohol - it's safe to do as long as you follow some sensible rules.
- Keep away from high-risk forms of gambling where you can lose large sums of money very quickly.
- Limit the amount of time you gamble. This will give you time to do other, more important things with your life.
- Limit the amount you spend to the amount you can afford to lose. When you have spent this much, walk away.
- Quit while you are ahead. If you continue, you are likely to lose because the odds are always stacked against you. That's how bookies and the casinos make their money.
When gambling becomes a problem
For most of us, gambling is a harmless activity. But, for some people, gambling is a way of life, an addiction that can wreck their lives.
You may be a compulsive gambler if:
- you spend more money on gambling then you can afford. If you continue to gamble, you could get into serious debt. You could also lose your home and your possessions
- you spend so much time gambling that you neglect other important areas of your life, like your family or your work. You could lose your job or end up divorced or separated from your partner and children
- your feelings and behaviour change. For example, you may become depressed when you lose or over-excited when you win. In serious cases, you may feel that you are only really alive when you gamble
- it leads you to inappropriate or even criminal behaviour. For example, you may lie to family and friends about your gambling activities or you may steal to fund your gambling habit.
Questions to ask yourself
If you think you may have a gambling problem but are not sure, ask yourself:
- Is gambling making me unhappy at work or at home?
- Is gambling making it hard to sleep at night or concentrate during the day?
- Am I lying to other people and myself about how much I gamble?
- Am I gambling to get away from problems or worries?
- Am I gambling to get money - so that I can pay off debts or solve financial problems?
- Am I borrowing money or selling possessions so that I can gamble?
- If I have just won or just lost, do I feel I need to gamble just a little bit more?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may have a gambling problem.
What causes compulsive gambling?
All compulsive behaviours have social, psychological and biological origins. Gambling brings us into contact with others, even if we are using internet gaming rooms. This can provide a sense of community, however damaging the associated behaviours. Social meaning and acceptance by others are important to us all and for the compulsive gambler these can be found in virtual gaming rooms, real casinos, bookmakers and so on.
Gambling also changes how we feel psychologically as well as socially. It allows us to escape our normal lives and the everyday struggles we experience. During a period of gambling our mind is occupied by the odds, the bet, the race, the actions of other gamers, the run of the cards and so on. It can be all-consuming and therefore provides an engaging, exciting escape from ordinary life.
At the biological level, compulsive behaviours can have a direct effect on the brains dopamine reward system. This system regulates our responses to natural rewards like food, sex and social interaction. Repeated compulsive behaviours can act on this system with a power and persistence that changes its cells chemically and structurally. This in turn can have an overwhelming effect on our well-being. People may no longer respond normally to rewards such as food, sex and social interaction, and instead depend on gambling for their sense of reward.
Compulsive gambling can therefore develop through the social meaning and psychological relief that it offers. This is further compounded by the chemical changes in our brain that accompany these experiences. It is in fact artificial to separate these factors since they all occur simultaneously for the compulsive gambler. Social meaning, psychological relief and a fired dopamine reward system can be a difficult combination of experiences for the most hardy of individuals to resist.
Helping yourself
If you feel that you have lost control of your gambling, there are some things you can do to help yourself.
- Admitting you have a problem is the first and most important step.
- Find someone you can trust to talk to about your problem. It could be a friend, a relative or a specialist advisor.
- Avoid locations and situations where you may be tempted to gamble.
- Take control of how you spend your money, so that you don't waste it on gambling.
- If you can't do this by yourself, you may need to ask someone else to help you do this.
- Take one day at a time. Don't expect everything to improve straight away.
Living with someone who gambles
Gambling Problem Scotland Wikipedia
Living with someone who gambles can be just as difficult as living with someone with any other kind of addiction. It can be very stressful and it can lead to the breakdown of your relationship.
If you are not sure whether you are living with someone who has a gambling problem, ask yourself:
- Do they promise time and time again to stop gambling but carry on anyway?
- Do they disappear for long periods of time without telling you where they were?
- Do they spend large sums of money without being able to account for it?
- Do you hide money to stop them spending it?
- Do they lie to cover up or deny their gambling?
If you answered yes to most of these questions, then they may have a gambling problem.
Related content
Gambling Problem Scotland News
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