Priya Shah from Gamcare gave us an informative and moving talk about the problems that gambling addiction can cause, with a particular focus on women.
We were reminded how the gambling industry makes gambling so available with scratch cards at the newsagent’s, betting shops, bingo halls, casinos, lotteries, and especially gambling ‘games’ and sports gambling so accessible by mobile phones. In addition, gambling is heavily advertised as fun, glamorous, respectable, and even sociable.
The gambler can easily go from recreational gambling all the way to harmful gambling with risks to finances, relationships, and mental health. We learnt that the buzz in the pleasure centres of the brain from gambling and occasional wins, can require more and more gambling to maintain the high as the brain’s acclimatises to gambling highs..
Priya suggested that gambling to alleviate boredom or loneliness may be more common among women than men. In other words, making money may not be the only or even the main motivation.
The gambling companies entice people into gambling and do all they can to keep their customers in their clutches, even extending credit and offering free gifts etc. I am reminded of spiders with their sticky and deathly webs.
However, support is available, for example the following phone helpline and gamcare’s website:
National Gambling Helpline – 0808 8020 133 –
GamCare.org.uk
We counsellors can do our bit too,not being afraid to ask the question, ‘do you gamble?’ for example,which may reveal a gambling problem behind a presenting issue such as depression, financial difficulties or relationship problems.
Altogether, for me, listening to the talk was a chilling experience seeing how destructive gambling can be for someone who becomes a compulsive gambler, destructive for the person him/herself but also in many cases for family and friends.
Thank you Priya for an eye-opening talk.
David Brown.