Gamblers Anonymous
Carmichael House
North Brunswick St.
Dublin 7
Republic of Ireland
Tel: 01 - 872 11 33
Questions and Answers
What is Compulsive gambling?
There are many and varying interpretations of compulsive gambling. The explanation that seems most
acceptable to G.A. members is that compulsive gambling is an illness,
progressive in its nature, which can never be cured, but can be arrested.
Before coming to G.A., many compulsive gamblers thought of themselves as
morally weak or just no good.
The G.A. concept is that the compulsive
gambler is a very sick person who can recover by following a very simple
programme, to the best of his or her own ability, that has proved successful
for hundreds of other men and women with a similar problem.
What is the first thing a compulsive gambler ought to do in order to
stop gambling?
To accept the fact that compulsive gambling is a progressive
illness and to have the desire to get well. Our experience has shown that
the G.A. programme will always work for anyone who wants to stop gambling. It
will seldom work for the man or woman who cannot, or will not, squarely face
the facts about this illness.
Only you can make that decision. Most people
turn to G.A. when they become willing to admit that gambling has them licked.
Also, in G.A. a compulsive gambler is described as a person whose gambling has
caused growing and continuing problems in many departments of life. Many G.A.
members went through terrifying experiences before they were ready to accept
help. Others were faced with a slow, subtle deterioration which finally
brought them to the point of admitting defeat.
Can a compulsive
gambler ever gamble normally again?
No. The first small bet to a
problem gambler is like the first small drink to an alcoholic. Sooner or
later comes the fall back into the old destructive pattern. Once a person
has crossed the invisible line into irresponsible gambling, then it seems to
be impossible to reG.A.in control. After abstaining a few months, some of our
members have tried some small bet experiments, always with disastrous
results. The old obsession inevitably returned. Our G.A. experience seems to
point to these alternatives; to gamble, risking progressive deterioration,
or not to gamble, and develop a spiritual way of life.
Does this mean I can't even do the lottery or play a game for table stakes ? It means exactly that. A stand has to be made somewhere and G.A. members have found the first bet is the one to avoid, even though it may be as little as tossing for a cup of coffee.
Why can't
a compulsive gambler simply use his willpower to stop gambling? We
believe that most people, if they are honest, will recognise their lack of
power to solve certain problems. When it comes to gambling, we have known
many problem gamblers who could abstain for long periods, but caught off
guard - and in the right circumstances - they started gambling without
thought of the consequences. The defences they relied upon through willpower
alone gave way before some trivial reason for placing a bet.
We have found
that willpower and self-knowledge will not help in those mental blank spots
but adherence to spiritual principles seems to solve our problems. Most of
us feel that a belief in a power greater than ourselves is necessary in
order for us to sustain a desire to refrain from gambling.