Sylvie Smith, BA, ICADC

Problem Gambling/Addictions Counsellor

Homewood Community Addiction Services (CADS)

From Theory to Practice How to use knowledge to support clients to make changes in their gambling

and decrease the risks.

Is this Gambling?

What is Gambling?

• Wildman (1997) has suggested that the important

thing to remember about gambling is that it is “a

conscious, deliberate effort to stake valuables,

usually but not always currency, on how some

event happens to turn out.”

• “…risking something of value upon the outcome of

a contest of chance or a future contingent event not

under his control or influence, upon an agreement

or understanding that he or someone else will

receive something of value in the event of a certain

outcome.“ Maine poker law: section 952(4)

Interfering With Life…Maybe?

1. Long ago, most gambling had religious

and ceremonial functions.

2. Later, gambling became a recreational

activity played among individuals.

3. Most recently, gambling has become

a business.

The Big Change

Taken from Stacked Deck, Williams R & Wood, R

The House Edge: What it Means

• U.S. citizens lost $92

billion to the gambling

industry in 2007.

• Canadians lost $14

billion to gambling in

2008.

Taken from Stacked Deck, Williams R & Wood, R

Continuum perspective:

Types of Gamblers

Gambling and the Brain

• Dopamine is the chemical messenger/ neurotransmitter in our brains that is responsible for feelings such as pleasure and excitement.

• With repeated gambling the body increasingly relies on this stimulus to maintain rewarding feelings, which in turn causes unpleasantness when in withdrawal.

• It is said that the release during gambling is 3-4x that of natural rewards such as food or sex (Mirenowicz & Schultz, 1994). (like a “high”) After sometime, this decreases, causing the person to gamble more and perhaps spend more to get the dopamine rush.

• This is why you may hear: “It’s not about the money”.

• being young (teens to mid-20s) and/or male

• gambling at an early age

• having close access to gambling opportunities

• having friends who gamble

• having parents who are heavy gamblers or problem gamblers

• having other addictions

• having an early big win

• not understanding gambling fallacies

• playing rapid forms of gambling with a high frequency of betting

(for example, slots and other EGMs)

• having difficulty controlling impulses

• mental health issues

Various Risk Factors

Internet Gambling Risks • Easy of access

• Availability

• E-commerce

• Gambling under the influence

• Underage

• Solitary play

• Anonymity

A Comprehensive Review of Problem Gambling Self-Assessment

Tools for Use on an Internet Platform funded by the OPGRC

Internet Gambling Risks

Dr. Chris Perlman, PhD, University of Waterloo

Michelle Nogueira, RSSW, CAC II, CPGC, Homewood Community Addiction Services

Sylvie Smith, BA, ICADC, Homewood Community Addiction Services

Suzanne Rath, BA, MSc Candidate, University of Guelph

When do people seek support?

• When the gambling is an interfering or

predominant issue and is leading to other

consequences.

• It is usually financial, legal or familial issues

that facilitate problem gamblers to seek

support.

• Unlike substance use, there are no physical

signs of problem gambling in a family. That’s

why problem gambling is sometimes

described as the “invisible addiction”.

Problem Gamblers and

Harm Reduction

Harm Reduction and Gambling

• Individuals who gamble can be support using

the Stages of Change

• Precontemplators seek support due to

external consequences, such as court order,

work place, family and/or bankruptcy

• Important to be non-judgemental and help

individuals by educating them about gambling

in a neutral manner.

Harm Reduction and Gambling

• Set limits with money

• Pay attention to physical needs

• Use only allocated money

• Set time limits for play

• If a problem is identified, Self-Exclusion can

be a way to reduce harm.

Low Risk Gambling Guidelines?

Using National Population Data to Develop Low-risk

Gambling Guidelines, Shawn Currie, PHD., C., Psych,

Funded by the Alberta Gaming Research Institute, 2004

Frequency: 2-3 times per month

Duration: 60 minutes per session

Dollars: $75 per month

Percent Income: 2% monthly income

Gambling and Gaming

This is the first generation of youth

to grow up in a culture where gambling is:

• Aggressively promoted

• Legalized

• Socially accepted

• Accessible (internet)

Remind You of Something?

Harm Reduction: Teens Who Gamble/Game

•Balance your activities. (Have more than one

thing you do for fun!)

•Set a time limit.

•Take a break.

•Stop if its interfering with important things in

your life.

•Talk to someone if you have trouble stopping

when you want to.

If Abstinence is the Choice…

• Clients can remain abstinent from the

game(s) they are seeking support with and

set limits around other forms of gambling.

(CADS) Problem Gambling Services

Assessment

(family/friends as well as individuals

who have issues with gambling)

• Individual Counselling

• Education

• Case Management

• Referrals to treatment or other community agencies

• Follow up/Aftercare

Educational/Support Groups

• Nature Walk

• Horticulture Therapy sessions

• “Bored” Games

• Night of Inspiration

• Family and Friends Session

• Stressed Spelled Backwards is

Desserts: Coping with the Holidays

COMING SOON…Concurrent Disorders and Gambling Group

Problem Gambling Services Offered

ADAPT Problem Gambling Out-Patient Treatment Program

• A five-day intensive day program offered semi-annually in partnership with ADAPT (Halton Alcohol, Drug and Problem Gambling Assessment, Prevention and Treatment)

Gambling Craving Helpline: 519-824-1010 ext. COPE (2673)

Off-Site Self-Exclusion

• Flamborough Downs Security officers attend once a

month to offer self-exclusion at the CADS office

Sylvie Smith, B.A., I.C.A.D.C. 519-836-5733 ext 2344

smitsylv@homewood.org

Change is the essence of life. Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.