The following was posted by Medusa on April 18, 2016, who gave permission for it to be
used here.
Poker Machines and gambling are not a problem to anyone who chooses to use it as a social
interest only.
It becomes a problem when it affects our lives and our family’s lives.
That is, it becomes an addiction.
Addictions can rip the life from families who are affected.
(Of course, this all depends on whether people accept that they have an addiction.)
Some people just say, “Oh, I am just a heavy gambler and I can stop at any time I wish”.
But for some people, it leads to failure, loss of family, loss of jobs, loss of property,
and when things become too much, loss of life.
I know there are lots of things in our lives that are a gamble.
But addiction is another thing altogether.
Gambling addiction is when we cannot do without gambling whenever we have money, and when
we don’t have money, we will do almost anything to get money – lie, cheat, steal, not pay
the bills, take out numerous credit cards and then max them out.
For example, just say now we have a house worth $300,000, three credit cards worth a
total of $30,000, and access to petty cash at work of $500 a month.
When we realise we love gambling so much, we have to sell the house and move into a
cheaper house, or even rental accommodation.
We have maxed out our credit cards and have also “borrowed” money from the petty cash.
Then finally we may wake up and say that we have a problem.
Some still say that they are just heavy gamblers.
Then there is the change of jobs to earn more money.
Those jobs may even turn into bigger paying jobs when they become fly-in and fly-out jobs.
And don’t forget the constant borrowing of money from family and friends.
Some people get themselves out of trouble by moving interstate, stopping gambling for
a while and saving money, but they mostly come back with the urge to gamble again.
The gamblers then yo-yo back and forth, back and forth, until they have reached rock bottom
again.
In some cases this may go on for years and years.
Eventually some people accept that they have a very big gambling problem.
A few may even seek help.
The trouble is that everything is so easily accessible today.
The Internet and these smartphones that do everything – what a nightmare for the compulsive
gambler!
The whole world is available twenty-four-seven! Online casinos, online poker, horse-racing
from around the world, boxing tournaments, cricket matches – the list goes on.
Of course the gambling companies are not innocent.
Not only are they directly profiting from problem gamblers’ misfortune, they have
intentionally designed their machines to be as addictive as possible.
They hire statisticians and psychologists to guarantee that their profits keep rolling
in.
The house must win at any cost.
The companies will argue that they are not doing anything illegal, which is usually true.
However, they certainly are not very moral.
They are taking people’s money and ruining lives.
The government allow it of course, due to the large amount of tax revenue they receive.
Also remember, our children are being trained from a very young age to have an unbalanced
lifestyle.
Many children’s video games focus on collecting coins or crystals, or pulling the lever of
a pretend poker machine to win a prize.
Gambling is still allowed to be advertised on our TV sets, so of course our children
are being exposed to this whenever they watch their favourite football team playing.
So, what can be done about all of this?
For starters, we must outlaw gambling ads, just as we have done with big tobacco.
Secondly, we have to have much tighter restrictions on poker machines.
Currently, almost every pub and club have them.
Some clubs, if not most of them, rely entirely on poker machine revenue.
But the main thing that we need to do is admit that gambling doesn’t help society.
It makes a few people rich, but many people end up losing everything.
If you think you have a problem with gambling, there are lots of free resources available
online.
But the key is to admit you have a problem, and seek help as soon as possible.
Don’t be tricked by the gambling companies.
As they say, the house always wins.