too young to gamble

by Matthew Barbour

help and info

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organisations

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
BACP House
Unit 15 St John's Business Park
Lutterworth
Leicestershire LE17 4HB
Tel: 0870 443 5252 (Mon-Fri 8.45am-5pm)
E-mail: bacp@bacp.co.uk
Website: www.bacp.co.uk
Charity that can provide a list of private counsellors in your area, plus information on counselling and how to choose a counsellor.

Connexions Direct
Helpline: 0808 0013 219 (open 8am-2am every day)
Text: 07766 413 219 (open 8am-2am every day)
Website: www.connexions-direct.com
Offers information and advice for young people on any issue. Calls from landlines are free so they won't show up on phone bills. Calls from a mobile are charged but if you call them first – they promise to call you back. Also, you can send them an e-mail from the website or talk to an advisor online.

Gamblers Anonymous
Helplines:
020 7384 3040 (Open 24 hours every day)
08700 50 88 80 (Open 24 hours every day)
08700 50 88 81 (Open 24 hours every day – Scotland)
Website: www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk
A fellowship of men and women who have joined together to do something about their gambling problem and help others to do the same.

Gambling Commission
Website: www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk
Set up under the Gambling Act 2005 the Gambling Commission's key role is to regulate casinos, bingo, gaming machines and lotteries. From 2007 it will have responsibility for the regulation of betting and remote gambling, as well as helping to protect children and vulnerable people.

Gambling Therapy
Website: www.gamblingtherapy.org
An e-helpline for problem gambling run by the Gordon House Association. If you've got a problem with gambling, or are worried about someone with a gambling problem you can speak live to counsellors, correspond via e-mail or even get advice on your mobile via SMS text.

Gamcare
2&3 Baden Place
Crosby Row
London SE1 1YW
Helpline: 0845 6000 133 (open 24/7 – calls charged at local rate)
E-mail: info@gamcare.org.uk
Website: www.gamcare.org.uk
Webpage: www.gamcare.org.uk/site.builder/young.html (this section is specifically for young people)
A confidential counselling, advice and information service for people affected by a gambling dependency, including family and friends of compulsive gamblers.

National Debtline
Helpline: 0808 808 4000 (Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat 9.30am-1pm)
Website: www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
Provides a free, confidential and independent helpline for people with debt problems in England, Wales and Scotland. Offers expert advice over the phone plus a self-help information pack. Download the information from their website.

websites

Addiction and Dependency – Gambling
www.connexions-direct.com/index.cfm?pid=110
&catalogueContentID=483&render=detailedArticle
Article written for young people about gambling laws, the risks involved and the nature of addiction.

Factors Contributing to the Development of Pathological Gambling
www.personalityresearch.org/papers/sinha.html
Some interesting research from the Rochester Institute of Technology on those factors that can lead to pathological gambling.

GamAid
www.gamaid.com
Online safety net for gamblers worldwide with a section for those living in the UK and lots of useful info on the addiction itself.

Gamblers Anonymous – Young People
www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/index.htm#Young
Web page from GA specifically aimed at young people who can also e-mail a member in confidence.

GamStop
www.gamstop.org
Helps prevent gambling sites from running on your PC. When an attempt to access a gambling site occurs, your PC will link you instead to GamAid (www.gamaid.com)

Gambling Act 2005
www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2005
/20050019.htm
Online version of the controversial Gambling Act.

A Green Light for an Addiction that Blights Children's Lives
www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story
/0,,1755565,00.html
Polly Toynbee takes a damning look at the new gambling legislation where American Casino giants have hit the jackpot – it would seem that ours is the only government in Europe that will let them in.

Internet Addict Gambled Away £158,000 on his Parents' Cards
www.timesonline.co.uk/article
/0,,2-2228470,00.html
A young Scotsman attempted suicide and faced a jail sentence after running up debts in under an hour on an Internet gambling site.

The Science of Gambling
www.firstscience.com/SITE/ARTICLES/gambling.asp
David Brill looks at the psychological, biological and social factors that drive people to gamble.

UK Super-Casino Plans
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=1211
A wide range of articles on the controversial issues surrounding Scotland's bids to house the first 'super-casinos' in Britain.

Unhooked Thinking
www.unhookedthinking.com
An unusual, international and multidisciplinary conference enquiring into the nature of addiction. There are many different ways in which addiction is understood, but, despite billions spent by governments around the world, the problem just gets worse. Is there some more helpful way to understand it?

reading

	Adolescent Gambling by Prof. Mark Griffiths (Routledge, 1995) In theory gambling is against the law for children, but young people do have access to fruit or slot machines. The author has carried out extensive research into why some adolescents get hooked on gambling, how they gamble and what can be done about it. He provides an overview of adolescent gambling worldwide in addition to individual case studies, treatment approaches and an insight into how the gambling industry induces young people to gamble. Get this book

	Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence by Mark Griffiths (Blackwell, 2002) This guide gives an understanding of why children and adolescents may come to play fruit machines/video games to excess and includes knowledge about the risk factors involved in this. It includes practical and common sense interventions that may be beneficial for such children and adolescents and also includes practical advice for parents facing their child's behavioural addiction. Get this book

	Gambling and the Public Interest by Peter Collins (Greenwood Press, 2003) Gambling is cropping up everywhere with astonishing pervasiveness, from the new Native American casinos to state-run lotteries and the Internet. Professor Peter Collins from Salford University's Centre for the Study of Gambling provides a useful look at a growing and controversial industry. Get this book

	Gambling and Problem Gambling among Young People in England and Wales by Sue Fisher (1998) This report was commissioned by the Office of the National Lottery and the findings can be downloaded or read in Pdf format. Get this report

	Overcoming Compulsive Gambling by Alex Blaszczynski (Constable and Robinson, 1998) A self-help guide to curing compulsive gambling problems through cognitive behavioural techniques. The text consists of a definition and discussion of the issues and a step-by-step recovery programme. Get this book

	Regulating Commercial Gambling: Past, present, and future by David Miers (Oxford University Press, 2004) Concerns over gambling have recently resurfaced with the Gambling Act, notably fears of increased accessibility to children and the possibility of increased numbers of problem gamblers. Miers sets out recent developments in the regulation and deregulation of gambling's three primary forms – betting, gaming, and lotteries - against an account of their social and legal history, while also examining the implementation and impact of the present law governing gaming and the National Lottery. Get this book

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