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Tunisien Playing is a pleasure and should remain a pleasure. However, some players cannot control their gambling behavior and can quickly fall into a form of addiction that will be dangerous in their daily lives.
Responsible gambling is here to help you know if you are engaging in risky behavior and if you need to seek help.
If you think you have a gambling problem, you should seek help.
Problem gambling is a type of addiction characterized by compulsive behavior that interferes with an individual's daily life, social relationships, finances, and mental health. We often talk about gambling addiction or pathological gambling.
People with problem gambling have a strong urge to gamble, even though they know it is causing them harm. They often continue to gamble despite significant negative consequences such as financial problems, relationship problems, and emotional distress. This is a serious condition that requires professional help to overcome.
The gambling problem is more widespread than you might think. It appears that of the 1.6 billion casino gamblers and sports bettors, between 0.12–5.8% show signs or symptoms of gambling addiction.
These statistics highlight the need for additional prevention efforts and access to treatment services. There is a silver lining in that many resources are available to support anyone suffering from gambling addiction. There are also steps you can take yourself to help identify if you have a gambling problem, as well as tips on how to avoid developing this addiction.
Help centers for gambling addicts
Being addicted to gambling is not a shame. It is a recognized disease and against which there are solutions.
Many help centers around the world offer help for players who feel addicted. You can contact these centers directly or go through your family doctor who will be able to help you take the first step towards recovery.
Here are the addresses and telephone numbers of some addiction centers for casino players in France:
– adictel.com0 805 02 00 00, 24h/24, 7j/7 (free call from landline).
– sosjoueurs.org, 09 69 39 55 12
–institut-jeu-excessif.com0 800 11 33 90 (anonymous call).
– joueurs-info-service.fr, 09 74 75 13 13, 7j/7 de 8h à 2h. Anonymous call
It should also be noted that all casinos with a license are obliged to provide you with assistance in the event of problem gambling and can ban you to help you take the first step.
Do not hesitate to contact customer service and discuss with them the options offered by their online casino site.
How to identify risky gambling and behavioral problems
Identifying the moment when we go from fun to addiction is not an easy moment.
There are signs that show you are slipping into risky behavior and it is useful to know them in order to realize the problem as soon as possible. Do not hesitate to involve members of your family, so that they can keep an eye on you and report any abuses, whether behavioral or financial.
When you start to realize that you have a gambling addiction problem, it is often already late. Here are some signs that can alert you to the fact that your game is becoming addictive:
- Gambling with important money like your rent money
- Thinking about gambling all day long
- Lying to others about your gambling habit
- Borrowing money from others just to gamble
- Gambling at stakes that you know are too high for your bankroll
- Gambling to escape your problems and ignoring your responsibilities
- Gambling to pay off gambling debt
- Quitting your job or favorite hobbies to gamble
- Being physically unable to take breaks from playing
- Spending less time with family in order to gamble
If you realize that you have one or more of these symptoms, it's time to talk to someone about your relationship to gambling and take a break to take stock of your situation.
You can also contact help center who will help you to take stock of your situation for free.
What is the cause of problem gambling?
Understanding the causes of gambling addiction often allows us to understand the consequences and to be able to realize that we have a problem.
There are physiological but also environmental causes and these are often combined together in the most serious cases.
Physiological causes
Numerous studies conducted by gambling addiction experts show that some people are more likely to develop addictive behavior partly because of their brain chemistry.
Gambling influences brain connections and can activate areas of the brain like the pleasure center. The player will then want to trigger this feeling again and again, which can lead to an addiction and to taking more and more risks to find this feeling.
These brain chemistry disorders can cause players to develop signs of uncontrollable depression, anxiety or anger.
Societal causes
Being confronted with advertisements, videos on youtube or reading stories of incredible winnings can also contribute to developing addictive behaviors among fragile players.
Indeed, overexposure to gambling or games of chance can cause the player to want to gamble more, to gamble longer or to gamble more money.
If you are surrounded by other people, in your circle of friends or in your family circle, who are gamblers, you will tend to play more.
If the pressure from the group is strong, one wants to play in order to integrate.
Psychological causes
Other psychological problems can lead to risky gambling behavior.
When a person is anxious or depressed, they may try to get out of their depressive routine by gambling.
It is a vicious circle where the gambler thinks he is getting out of his depression but sinks into it even more by creating problems with gambling debts.
Defeating gambling myths to fight addiction
Often, gambling begins as a fun game and slides into addiction.
Although not all gamblers develop an addiction, there are certain casino myths that can make some gamblers unwilling to stop.
Here are some myths to fight against:
- Thinking that you will for sure make money
- Thinking that you will eventually win if you play long enough
- Choosing to keep playing until you win
- Thinking that you can beat the house edge or gain advantage over the casino
All these myths contribute to making a player believe that playing at the casino can make him rich.
You should never gamble more than you can lose without going into debt. NEVER play beyond your means.
The truth is that the casino always has the advantage over you and in the end, mathematically, the casino wins over the players. Casinos are companies that are created to make a profit. So they are always winners.