Gambling crisis: 2,000 addicts seek help a week
Gamblers Anonymous Ireland has confirmed more than 100 group sessions are held weekly — more than double that 10 years ago.
The group said more meetings were to be introduced in the coming weeks to cater for the demand as the problem had reached “epidemic proportions”.
The support service said the addiction was shared across both sexes, with hundreds of women seeking help, particularly for compulsive spending in bingo halls and casinos, as well as wasting their life savings on scratchcards.
It also confirmed more than half of those who start sessions do not last the course, and, unable to conquer their addiction, drop out and return to their old ways. A spokesman said some pay the ultimate price by taking their own lives.
“Online gambling is a recent trend and it’s become a huge problem. Whether it’s poker or betting on horses, it’s extremely dangerous because the worst addicts will be up all night on their computers, searching for the next big win.
“In many cases, because no money is physically changing hands, they spend more than they ever would. And we’ve noticed that since the recession many more people are gambling away everything to try and pay their debts or solve some financial difficulty.”
Commonly, compulsive gamblers risk losing their jobs, are frequently too anxious to sleep and have unhappy home lives, sometimes even turning to moneylenders or crime to finance their habits.
“When you think of events like Cheltenham, you see that gambling is very much in the Irish psyche,” said the spokesman.
“But a lot of people don’t realise how quickly it can get out of hand. Once it becomes an addiction, it will destroy you and those closest to you.
“If anyone else out there suspects they have a problem or knows someone who does, we urge them to get in touch.”
* gamblersanonymous.ie.
