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Responsible Gaming | Preventing Underage Play | Adictel


This chapter about prevention relating to responsible gambling is made available to you by Adictel, the standard organization for aid to excessive gamblers.

Are you a compulsive gambler?

The danger of gambling is that punters can lose sight of the fact that gambling is just an amusement. They risk seeing gambling as a means of making money, believing that they have more luck, or more insight, than other people. This may be true, but the danger is that it can lead to a vicious circle in which the player attempts to make good his or her losses by playing even more.

The following questions can help you to identify problems linked to compulsive gambling:

  • Do you sometimes bet more money than you have in your wallet?
  • Have you ever indulged in betting in order to pay back a debt or solve a money problem?
  • Do you often play for longer than you intended at the start?
  • Do you leave your children on their own or with friends or relatives so that you can have more time to gamble?
  • Do you bet with money required to meet your most basic expenses (rent, food, clothing...)?
  • Do you have the feeling that you need to gamble so that you can spend time with the people whom you love?
  • Do you neglect your family responsibilities in order to gamble?
  • When you are with close friends or family, at work, or socialising, do you find yourself continuously thinking about gambling?
  • Do you think of gambling as a way of earning your living?
  • Have you ever thought about stopping gambling?
  • When you lose at gambling, do you think immediately of turning over a new leaf?
  • Has your consumption of alcohol, tranquilizers or sleeping pills increased since you began gambling?
 

Some Recommendations for Responsible Gambling

For many people, gambling is a source of pleasure and a good way of amusing oneself, for betting money, betting on chance, betting on your lucky star... gives pleasure.
So they take good care to choose how and where to spend their time and money.

This is how most people gamble responsibly:

  • Deciding upon a maximum loss over a given time period, and sticking to it,
  • Never betting to win whatever the cost, but for the pleasure of trying your luck.
  • Betting by taking a definite limited financial risk, which greatly reduces the chance of “losing control”. The key to betting with little risk is understanding that it’s only a game,
  • Never borrow from friends or relatives, or from financial organizations, in order to bet.
  • Decide for yourself upon limited periods of time devoted to gambling,
  • Take frequent breaks,
  • Alternate gambling with other activities,
  • Do not gamble when you are experiencing periods of trouble, extreme stress, depression, or mental confusion,
  • Avoid gambling when under the influence of psychotropic drugs.
  • Do not gamble with money put aside for leisure activities, and never with money for necessary expenses (rent, electricity, heating...)
  • Don’t look on gambling as a way of escaping day to day or psychological problems.


If you are a player who is dependent upon or is experiencing difficulties due to gambling to excess, you can contact the Adictel free help line (24/24 7/7 service)

The Adictel site www.adictel.com
By phone: 0805 02 00 00 (free fixed line number)
By email : contact@adictel.com