Adults and Gambling

Tips around Money and Gambling:

If you are a gambler who is worried about overspending at a game, or if too much access to money triggers you to gamble, understand you have choices:

• Limit your access to cash. Don’t have more in your pocket than you need.
• No credit cards! Cut them up, or give them to someone trustworthy temporarily.
• Do the same as above to your Interac card – too easy!
• Keep tabs on where your money goes – having only one bank account might help, how many do you really need?
• Ask for assistance from someone who knows budgeting.

Settling debts becomes important to people recovering from gambling problems; there are a few choices available:

• Contact creditors to establish a reasonable payment plan, work with what you can afford.
• Some payments can be arranged to be automatically withdrawn from your bank account or directly from you paycheck, before you see any money, so that there is less temptation to spend.
• Set up a budget that you can live on, and stick to.
• Contact a credit counsellor to get a detailed look at your money.
• Consult a Financial Advisor at a bank or at a Consulting firm.

Types of Gamblers:

There are many different types of gamblers. Take our PGSI quiz to see where you fit!

If you are a person who has not gambled at all in the past 12 months, or even in your lifetime you are considered a “non-gambler.”

If you have gambled in the past 12 months, but you show no signs or symptoms of having a gambling problem, you are considered a “non-problem gambler”.

You may have gambled in the last 12 months, and in the last 3 months have experienced, or are experiencing a negative consequence or a behavioural problem around your gambling. These circumstances place you in the “mild gambling problem” category.

If you have been gambling in the last 12 months, and are experiencing a few (2 or 3) negative consequences or behavioural problems you fit into the “moderate gambling problem” category. This means you are probably gambling frequently, and are spending larger amounts of money on the games.

Finally, if in the last 12 months, you have experienced several (4 or more) behavioural problems or negative consequences around your gambling, you fit into the “severe gambling problem” category. If you truly fit here, you are gambling on a greater number of activities, more frequently, and with large amounts of money.

Susceptibilities:

Research shows us, that a few specific factors can put a person at risk for developing a gambling problem. They include, number and type of gambling activities, frequency of play, and amount of money spent per month. There is also evidence to show us that faulty beliefs about gambling, lower education levels and having a significant win early in gambling experiences can put a person at risk of developing a problem with gambling. If you would like to learn more about this topic, contact us, we’d be glad to help!