Accompanying those addicted to gambling

Leela M Ramdeen

"We pray for those suffering from addiction may be properly helped and accompanied." - Pope Francis

In Pope Francis' prayer intention for April 2020, he asked everyone to pray for those who suffer from addiction, especially addiction to gambling, pornography, and the internet.

If we are to journey with our Domestic Church on Mission; if we are to be leaven in our neighbourhood's/nation's dough, we must avoid being judgmental and reach out to families that are hurting, for example, because one or more members of their family is/are addicted to gambling.

Our Catechism tells us that Gambling, whether it involves games of chance (e.g. card games), wagers or betting, or even lotteries, is not intrinsically evil:

"Games of chance (card games, etc.) or wagers are not in themselves contrary to justice. They become morally unacceptable when they deprive someone of what is necessary to provide for his needs and those of others. The passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement. Unfair wagers and cheating at games constitute grave matter, unless the damage inflicted is so slight that the one who suffers it cannot reasonably consider it significant. "(2413).

Recently my friend rang me from London asking me to pray for her husband who is addicted to gambling and who continues to gamble most of his salary on various forms of gambling, thus leaving her and their children in need. She said that for more than 12 weeks betting shops were ordered to shut as part of a national effort to contain the coronavirus. As soon as the betting shops opened their doors on Monday 15 June in England, he once again started to frequent these shops and his gambling is out of control.

I recall allowing a friend and her two children to stay with me at my home in London years ago when her husband gambled their house in a poker game and lost. He beat her and broke her jaw in front of their children when she complained.

Addiction to gambling is a global problem. It affects more than just the gambler. For example, America's Debt Help Organisation (wwwdebt.org), states: "About 85% of adults in the U.S. have gambled at least once in their life and the gambling industry takes in about $500 billion a year…as many as 23 million Americans go into debt because of gambling and the average loss is estimated to be around $55,000. So how do gamblers pay for their losses?

"They 'borrow' from credit cards, savings accounts, investment portfolios, retirement funds - anywhere there's money or credit available - hoping to fund the one big bet that gets them back to even… But if you're out of luck and that pile of chips has turned into a pile of debt, the answer is not to go all in. The answer is to convince yourself to stop gambling altogether, and seek psychological help for the addictive nature of the problem."

On 13 March 2019, Rob Davies reported in the UK Guardian: "People with a gambling problem are 15 times more likely to take their own life, according to the largest study of its kind, prompting calls for swifter action by the government to tackle betting addiction. Academics at Lund University, Sweden, monitored more than 2,000 people with gambling disorders, finding a significantly elevated risk of suicide among participants compared with the general population over an 11-year period.

"The study found that suicide rates increased 19-fold among men between the ages of 20 and 49 if they had a gambling problem and by 15 times among men and women of all ages. The authors of the research said that while the causes of suicide were complex and likely to involve more than one factor, their work indicated gambling disorders were associated with far higher than average rates of suicide."

There are many online sites with tools to assist an individual to quit. Steps include: Understand the problem, including the term "winnings", Join a Support Group, Avoid temptation, Postpone gambling, Find alternatives to gambling, Think about the consequences, and Seek professional help.

Let's pray for and accompany those with this dependency/addiction and their families.

LINKS

Trinidad Gamblers Anonymous provides online Therapy Support Groups or live support for problem gamblers, their friends and families, or Support Forums: www.gamblingtherapy.org/en/trinidad-gamblers-anonymous.

In the UK see: www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk or www.gamblersanonymous.co.uk

Leela Ramdeen is Chair of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice in the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, (CCSJ) and Director of CREDI