Compulsive gamblers hooked on empty dreams

Press, 15 February 1986, Page 19

Compulsive gamblers hooked on empty dreams

By

KEN COATES

If someone gets into deep trouble through compulsive gambling, stealing from an employer or passing valueless cheques, he is condemned as weak and lacking in willpower. If he really wanted to, we say, he could have stopped frittering aW ay his money on the horses. Little sympathy is given this kind of loser. Not fair, says a group in Christchurch which calls itself Gamblers Anonymous. They see gambling as one of the- five addictions, along with narcotics, alcohol, food and work. I attended a meeting of five members in an austere church hall. They were ruthlessly honest about how they see themselves. Gambling, they said, gradually took hold of their lives. They became seduced by the excitement, the adrenalin-producing

prospect of a big win, the need to go on placing bets and the “buzz” they got from being "in action.” They see compulsive gamblers as people in the grip of a progressive illness and who over time get worse, never better. All said they were not out to knock a harmless flutter on the horses. Their experiences reflected being hopelessly hooked, often leading to stealing money to gamble, ill-health, marriage break-up, loss of self-respect, lies and deceit, bankruptcy and misery.

One man would bet on anything, even the proverbial flies crawling up the window. He

recalled how he had blown a big roll of banknotes when gambling in market during a tour of Italy. “It was all we had; my wife burst out crying and I had to carry her out of the market, and her sister abused me,” he said. Another man said he never bet on a favourite, always on an outsider. “I couldn’t give a monkey’s whether I won or lost, as long as I had a bet.” Why did they become compulsive, unable to stop? Emotional insecurity was advanced as a cause. Some felt comfortable only when at a race meeting, placing a bet, or at a card table.

One man said he knew a woman who spent $l5O a week on housie, playing every day except for two afternoons when she had her children. She recently took an overdose of drugs. Immaturity was also cited, a desire to get rich without effort and acceptance of responsibility. “We are generous, we shout the bar and wear flashy clothes because we want people’s attention," said one man.

Compulsive gamblers often seem themselves in a dream world of success and luxury. They think they will make up for all the money lost by that big win which will provide a new house, world trip, new car and fine clothes.

Occasionally, they do get a big win, but it is never enough. They gamble while dreaming still greater dreams.

When failing they gamble in reckless desperation, always dreaming their dreams, without which life would not be worth living. In overcoming the addiction the first step is a desire to stop. The Gamblers Anonymous group says that in seven years, about 200 people attended at various times. Eight are not gambling at all, while the rest are still at it. Members say the problem is a hidden epidemic, comparable to alcoholism, and their organisation with its recovery and unity programmes is not well enough known, or supported. They plan to ask for Government support for a national advisory body that can help fund an education programme to help "the many people out there who are gambling themselves into misery.”