Getting Past Gambling

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A place to come and share experiences, to find support and strength, for those of us who are putting gambling behind us and finding new exciting and happier ways to live our lives.
" You never achieve real success unless you like what you are doing."
*Dale Carnegie {1888-1955 American Author & Achievement Expert}


ARE YOU GAMBLING WITH....
... the feelings of those you love most?
... with your family's security and happiness?
... with the roof over your children's heads?
... with money that you can't afford to lose?
... with the trust that your partner/parents/children/friends have in you?
.... with your future?


ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS TO SEE IF YOU ARE AT RISK:.....
Do you think about gambling every day?
Do you chase your losses?
Do you feel depressed because of your gambling?
Do you hide your gambling from people close to you?
Do you borrow money so you can gamble?
Do you argue with family or friends over money or gambling?
Do you often gamble until your last dollar is gone?
Do you let bills go unpaid because you use the money for gambling?
Do you find that you are not talking honestly to anyone about how often or how much you spend on gambling?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you may have a problem.

Top Tips To Beat Your Gambling Problem.


Tell others about your problem and decision.
It is easier to overcome your problem if you have some support.
Take financial control.
Become aware of the situations that have turned your gambling into a problem.
For example, when you are bored, angry, have some spare cash, feeling lucky or thinking about losses.
Think about your thinking.
How you think about your gambling will strongly influence how you act.

Money Management.
To gain perspective on the value of money, try to reorganise your finances.
For example, pay bills by direct debit, have your partner collect your wages and leave the credit cards at home when you go out.

Organise your time.
When gambling becomes a problem, it takes up may hours of the week.
Many gamblers feel a "gap" when they reduce their gambling time. Try socialising or taking up a hobby or sport.

Relaxation is important.
A lot of problem gamblers are intense about many areas of their lives.
Learning to relax is one way of overcoming the initial strong desire to return to gambling.

Saying positive things to yourself can determine how you feel and act.
It requires a deliberate effort to overcome negative self-talk.
Try to remember the good things about not betting.

Make a commitment to be honest to yourself and others.
If relationships have broken down due to dishonesty make a big effort to be totally honest in the future.

Remember that it sometimes takes a few efforts to reach your goal.

KEEP FOCUSSED ON YOUR SUCCESSES.

Monday, May 08, 2006

We want you: Say no to pokies

Nick Xenophon's inspiring 21.5% statewide upper house vote in the recent South Australian election has got a few people thinking about the prospect of importing the phenomenon of a "no pokies" political campaign to Victoria.

As someone who hates the pokies, I'm contemplating having a red hot go at them as a candidate in this year's state election on 25 November. To that end, a vehemently anti-gambling four-page submission will be lobbed before today's 5pm deadline for the Gambling Licences Review.
Victoria has the richest racing industry in the world, partly because the Kennett Government gifted it 25% of Tabcorp's duopoly pokies licence as part of a compromise before the 1994 float. Tabcorp and fellow duopolist Tattersall's only have their licences until 2012, and that's why the government is conducting this review, the results of which will be announced in 2007 – after the election. However, the government has stipulated that there will be no change to machine numbers or problem gambling policies, which are summarised here.

The internet makes submissions so much easier these days. The Bracks Government will no doubt announce how many submissions they receive, so how about a solid deployment of the 35,000 Crikey Army to boost their numbers.

Email the following message to gamblinglicencesreview@justice.vic.gov.au and you'll be contributing to policy formulation in Australia's most cerebral state, albeit one with an estimated 100,000 citizens who all-too-often stare blankly into these mind-numbing machines:

What sort of review doesn't consider problem gambling and the number of poker machines? Victoria's 30,000 machines is way too many when you understand that $2.4 billion a year is lost by punters and 84% of problems gamblers cite the pokies as their main vice.
For goodness sake, get them out of pubs, reduce the total number to about 10,000, force venues to close from midnight to midday and introduce WA-style machines that minimise losses by requiring players to stop and think.

What sort of civilised society can gloat about having the lowest smoking rate in the world – 17% and falling – and simultaneously suffer the highest per capita gambling losses. Retaining 30,000 machines when the Tabcorp and Tattersall's licences expire in 2012 is not tackling an insidious sin industry that is estimated to cause 1 suicide a week in Victoria.
Russia had a massive increase in the distribution of Vodka under Tsar Nicholas II because he enjoyed the tax revenue, yet big-drinking Russians are still paying the price today. Surely Victoria in 2006 is rich enough to not deluge misery on an estimated 2.3% of its pokies-addicted citizens just because the government likes collecting 24.2% of their losses in taxes, plus a $1,533 annual levy on all machines.

Member of the Crikey Army

A couple of thousand of them might cause a bit of a shock. Of course, everyone is welcome to design their own missive, and please feel free to CC me in:

smayne@crikey.com.au.

posted by LindaH @ 2:23 PM

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