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I am a serious poker player, I play slots on occasion, I’ve been known to play B&M bingo on now n then.. I buy a lotto ticket every so often, when I feel like wasting a buck.. and I bet on just about anything I belive I have a decent chance of winning..
Noone has studied me, noone has asked if I have a problem.. therefore.. noone knows if I have an addiction, a problem, a hobby, or a an ambition, therefor.. the stats are wrong.
Which is basically my opinion on every statistic offered.. However.. if you want a more serious answer.. Who was polled? What class of people? What type of gambler? etc… More statistics are made up then are scientific.. or so I’ve heard was statistically proven.. and if you’re asking the correct group, you can definitely come up with an answer that suits you..
It was a moderator on a dutch ‘stop gambling forum’ which also seems to be a therapist or whatever an ‘expert’ in this field is called.
Seems to me that he’s talking about players from the Netherlands, but I am glad you share the scepticism about the figures.
However, I will not go and ask it on the forum… ‘hey, i am a wannabe casino webmaster, how many of you get addicted?’ is slightly inappropriate…
I am actually part of those percentages. I will not give any numbers, but I can tell you I have made a lot of money in the businesses I have been in, and I don’t have a whole lot to show for it. I hit the fantasy five here in Fl back in 97 and I think it was the worst thing that ever happened to me lol. Things are looking up for me as of lately, and I have come to the point where I know it will be the death of me if I can’t nip it in the bud. I don’t want to be that guy 20 years down the road who made several million and doesn’t have a pot to piss in. From an ethical point of view, I don’t blame the other webmasters that have gotten me as a player. They don’t make me do what I do and I am not going to take the high ground in this business while others ride it all the way to the bank. The one thing I will do is elaborate on my gamblers anonymous section and make it more prominent when I do my next update. But gamblers are gamblers and they will find a way to gamble regardless if you point them in the right direction or another affiliate does so you would just be punishing yourself if you took the high road. I think it is good that your concerned about these things, but I feel ultimately it is up to the casinos themselves to be able to spot a problem gambler, although I wouldn’t expect too much. As a matter of fact Shark, a well respected casino continued to market to me after I specifically requested for them to close my account as I have a problem and I even had several emails from the manager stating it was infact closed, but it never was and they continued to send me offers to keep me playing. That opened my eyes that even a few of the most respected casinos will stop at nothing to earn a buck. Ultimately it is up to the problem gambler to make changes in his/her life, and I don’t see anything wrong with doing what we do.
Thanks bonusgeek for the honest and personal story. It takes guts to tell those things in public (by the way a good habit of Americans…) One thing is for sure: you found THE way of getting your dollars back!!
About my own possible future addiction… I just bought a starter poker set (see attach) with 300 clay chips for only 35 EURO woohoow!!:popcorn:
One more question about the ethics: I read about the “eCogra Seal” … is this the standard in the industry? Seems like some top casino’s like 32 Red don’t have them (I could be wrong)… Maybe some of you know where to find a decent list of all these quality labels (preferably discussed on relevance)?
Thanks again!
I have a compulsive gambler in my family…he makes a very good income and owns nothing but a motorcycle and a television. His parents provide his vehicle, and he lives with his girlfriend who is left to starve or have the utilities turned off when he does not pay his half of the bills. This person is 50 years old! Everyone tries to help him, but he will always find a way to gamble. Just walking into a 7-Eleven opens up a world of lotteries! His addiction has progressed to unbelievable trouble with the IRS, lying to his loved ones, and even identity stealing in attempts to attain credit funds.
I do not feel at all guilty being a casino affiliate. Compulsive gamblers will find a way to gamble, even when well-meaning folks try to shield them. Guilt would be akin to a restaurant owner feeling guilty about contributing to obesity, or a lounge/liquor store owner feeling guilty for contributing to alchoholism. Everyone has to at some point be responsible for themselves, even the hopelessly addicted.
Gambling for most people is enjoyable entertainment, not unlike a good meal or a relaxing cocktail during time off. Concern for compulsive gamblers is kind but unrealistic pertaining to business. Give an addict an opportunity to help him/herself. Restaurants offer lo-cal items, lounges/liquor stores offer non-alcoholic beverages, and affiliates post links to Gamblers Anonymous.
I will bet (no pun intended) the gambling addiction percentages are very close to obesity and alcholism percentages, because addiction is addiction.
BonusGeek, I wish you well in your indeavor to get a handle on your gambling. You are courageous in your admission, and help others in your open discussion. I know that your struggle is every bit as difficult as trying to beat alcholism, and the mental anguish can be excruciating. Peace and goodwill to you!
…Andrea
It is the biggest obstacle in my life I need to overcome, but I don’t get too down about it. When ever I start feeling down, I just remind myself that my problems can’t hold a candle to other problems people face like those in third world countries. Their obstacle is to find enough food to eat or they die. Try dealing with that pressure on a daily basis. And that is just one example of many. I am lucky, all I have to do is lick gambling. So I try not to make it out more than it is, we all have problems and I feel fortunate that mine can be solved with just making a decision and sticking to it. Others don’t even have a decision in their miserable life. And for some the only thing they have to look forward to is getting their measly bowl of daily rice. So my point is we are all pretty fortunate, and if licking gambling is the worst of your problems, then you have it made.
As you see, no one can stop an addict from practicing their addiction of choice.
Help is for those who want it, not for those who need it. Running a gambling portal doesn’t force addiction, any more than running Home Shopping Netword contributes to the addiction of shopaholics, imv.
It’s that thing about people have to take control of their own behavior, because no one else can.
Quote:I just read that 15% of the gambling population has ‘problems’ with it and 5% is an ‘addict’.(For addicts, every kind of gamble will reinstall their bad gambling habits, while the ‘problem’ people are affected by only part of the gambling possibilities.)It was a moderator on a dutch ‘stop gambling forum’ which also seems to be a therapist or whatever an ‘expert’ in this field is called.
I wonder what definition of ‘problem’ gambling they are using.
Just my two cents, but it’s very easy to skew numbers when working on statistics. One possible way is to define gambling “problems” in such a way that would put anybody who gambles more than once a month in the “problem” category.
Given that the the source was a moderator at a “stop gambling forum”, I’d say the numbers are likely inflated.
Not trying to minimize the problem of gambling addiction, but 15% for problems and 5% for addiction seems too high in my opinion.
