The answer to gambling addictions?
8th November, 2007
The director of the Problem Gambling Foundation, Philip Townshend told a conference which was made up of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs and Cutting Edge Addiction conference in Auckland that the best way for problem gamblers to beat their addiction is to let themselves be known to casinos and poker rooms in their area so that they are refused entry or credit.
"It's very public in that you have to send a photo of yourself and a letter to every venue in town that says, 'I am a problem gambler' which involves a significant embarrassment and shame factor." However it has been proven that if the person can overcome the embarrassment, it gives them a chance to regain control over their addiction and subsequently their lives.
Dr Townshend also said that in the future he would like slot machines to have mandatory warnings so that users of them could be informed of their potential losses.
