No, I’m not talking about the United States government and their sneaky method of passing legislation attached to a port security bill. I am however speaking of a person needing to control themselves when gambling. Addiction to gambling has been ranked in the hundreds of thousands to millions around the world. One point to look at though is how many people are addicted to something? Legal or not, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, animals, relationships, love, shopping, on and on. The point is, if a person is addicted, there needs to be a control. Most are not willing to admit they have a problem, let alone go for treatment.

I have a personal recommendation for those under the clinches of gambling. Find a game that you can play for pennies, granted you may not win big, but you will still feel the adrenaline from playing. $20 can last hours playing for pennies and if by chance you can win, then you move up to nickels, if you win on nickels, move up to dimes. Obviously, you will see your spending cut down dramatically, still be able to gamble, and perhaps leave the casino without the guilt.

I certainly do also recommend that if you have an addiction, you seek assistance so that maybe you will understand yourself better and be less likely to cause heartache and pain to yourself and those around you. It is always in the best interest of all to get the addictions under control, no matter what they are and keep them there.

There is no excuse for those that choose to send their lives into an uncontrollable spin for their addictions esp. when there are many options for them to get help. If you have an addiction to gambling, there is help:

USA

National Council on Problem Gambling 1-800-522-4700

Hot Line Number for Northern California 1-800-287-8670

Hot Line Number for Greater L.A. Central 310-478-2121

Hot Line Number for Palm Springs 760-325-2808

Hot Line Number for Greater San Diego 1-866-239-2911

Gam-Anon, International Service Office 718-352-1671

Compulsive Gambling Institute 1-800-GAMBLER

Council of Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-426-2537

Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling 1-800-426-4555

Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling 1-800-34-NOBET

NICOS Chinese Health Coalition Problem Gambling 1-888-968-7888 (Mandarin and Cantonese)

UK Gamblers Anonymous 08700 50 88 80

Canada British Columbia Partnership for Responsible Gambling 1-888-795-6111