How we offer help in the field of Problem Gambling.

Please answer the following 10 yes/no questions honestly:

1. Have there ever been periods lasting 2 weeks or longer when you spent a lot of time thinking about your gambling experiences, planning out future gambling ventures or bets, or thinking about ways of getting money to gamble with?
2. Have there ever been periods when you needed to gamble with increasing amounts of money or with larger bets than before in order to get the same feeling of excitement?
3. Have you ever felt restless or irritable when trying to stop, cut down, or control your gambling?
4. Have you tried and not succeeded in stopping, cutting down, or controlling your gambling three or more times in your life?
5. Have you ever gambled to escape from personal problems, or to relieve uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness, or depression?
6. Has there ever been a period when, if you lost money gambling one day, you would often return another day to get even?
7. Have you lied to family members, friends, or others about how much you gamble, and/or about how much money you lost on gambling, on at least three occasions?
8. Have you ever written a bad check or taken money that didn’t belong to you from family members, friends, or anyone else in order to pay for your gambling?
9. Has your gambling ever caused serious or repeated problems in your relationships with any of your family members or friends? Or, has your gambling ever caused you problems at work or at school?
10. Have you ever needed to ask family members, friends, a lending institution, or anyone else to loan you money or otherwise bail you out of a desperate money situation that was largely caused by your gambling?

REMINDER: this self-assessment will help you figure out if there is a problem, but only a professional can diagnose if it is a gambling problem, a different problem, or both.

If you answered yes to 1 or more of the above questions, CALL 1-800-GAMBLER NOW! The free 24/7/365 helpline can help you find additional information on problem gambling, or to provide assistance in dealing with gambling problems.

About the screen:

The NORC Diagnostic Screen for Gambling Problems-Self-Administered (NODS-SA) was developed by staff from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The instrument is a modification of the NODS, a diagnostic instrument based on the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-IV criteria for Pathological Gambling. Please note that while the NODS has been tested and shown to be reliable and valid for use in the general population (see Gerstein et al. 1999), the NODS-SA has not yet been fully validated.

If you think gambling is becoming a problem, you are not alone. Youth problem gamblers are increasing due to the popularity of poker and presence of online gambling, which is easy to access, no matter how old you are; gambling is also seen as being “cool” and is an activity that many of your friends may be participating in. If you are under the age of 19, please answer the following questions to find out if you are gambling responsibly.

1. Do your friends gamble a lot?
2. Have you ever gambled at school?
3. Have you ever stayed away from school or work to gamble?
4. Is gambling more important than school or work?
5. Do you often spend your free time involved in gambling activities such as poker or sports betting?
6. Do you find gambling to be the most exciting activity you do?
7. When you are gambling, do you tend to lose track of the time and forget about everything else?
8. Do you often daydream about gambling?
9. Do you feel your friends are envious of you when you win money at gambling, and that you get extra attention because of gambling?
10. When you win, do you want to gamble more because you believe that you will continue the winning streak?
11. When you lose, do you feel you must bet as soon as possible to win back your losses?
12. Do you often gamble with money you originally intended to use for other things…like lunch money, gas money, clothing money etc.?
13. Do you ever “borrow” money from parents or friends to gamble?
14. Have you ever sold a favorite possession or something very special to you to get money to gamble or pay a gambling debt?
15. Do you try to prevent your family and friends from knowing how much and how often you gamble?
16. Do you ever lie about your gambling? For example, do you ever tell people that you did not gamble or that you won money gambling when in fact you had lost money or possessions?
17. Do you get into arguments with your parents because of gambling or with your friends over a gambling activity?
18. Do you feel depressed or lose sleep or feel guilty because you lost money gambling?
19. Have you ever thought of suicide as a way of solving your problems?
20. Does one or both of your parents do a lot of gambling?

It is usually best to talk with your parents, grandparents, teacher or other guardian, but we know it can seem like a difficult thing to do. If you need some help before you talk with them, please call 1-800-GAMBLER to receive free, confidential, 24/7 counseling assistance regarding your gambling behavior. No phone charges will apply. Help is available for all ages along with assistance in Spanish if needed.

Test prepared by Durand F. Jacobs, Ph.D., Redlands, California Content courtesy of the California Council on Problem Gambling.

If you think you may be living with a compulsive gambler, but aren’t sure, please take the following test (written by Gam-Anon).

“Are you living with a compulsive gambler?”

1. Do you find yourself constantly bothered by bill collectors?
2. Is the person in question often away from home for long, unexplained periods of time?
3. Does this person ever lose time from work due to gambling?
4. Do you feel that this person cannot be trusted with money?
5. Does the person in question faithfully promise that he or she will stop gambling; beg, plead for another chance, yet gamble again and again?
6. Does this person ever gamble longer than he or she intended to, until the last dollar is gone?
7. Does this person immediately return to gambling to try to recover losses, or to win more?
8. Does this person ever gamble to get money to solve financial difficulties or have unrealistic expectations that gambling will bring the family material comfort and wealth?
9. Does this person borrow money to gamble with or to pay gambling debts?
10. Has this person’s reputation ever suffered due to gambling, even to the extent of committing illegal acts to finance gambling?
11. Have you come to the point of hiding money needed for living expenses, knowing that you and the rest of the family may go without food and clothing if you do not?
12. Do you search this person’s clothing or go through his or her wallet when the opportunity presents itself, or otherwise check on his/her activities?
13. Does the person in question hide his or her money?
14. Have you noticed a personality change in the gambler as his or her gambling progresses?
15. Does the person in question constantly lie to cover up or deny his or her gambling activities?
16. Does this person use guilt induction as a method of shifting responsibilities for his or her gambling upon you?
17. Do you attempt to anticipate this person’s moods, or try to control his or her life?
18. Does this person ever suffer from remorse or depression due to gambling, sometimes to the point of self-destruction?
19. Has the gambling ever brought you to the point of threatening to break up the family unit?
20. Do you feel that your life together is a nightmare?

If you are living with a problem gambler, you are not alone. There is help available specifically for the loved ones of problem gamblers, including counseling/therapy and support groups such as Gam-Anon.

Self-Exclusion

Self-exclusion is a voluntary program that bans you from all casinos from which you sign up. If you are self-excluded, you will not be paid any winnings if you sneak into the casino, are usually not allowed on any of the casino’s property (including restaurants and entertainment), and may be arrested for trespass if you violate the exclusion.

• California Card Rooms (no slot machines)
  • Self-Exclusion Form – this one form will exclude you from all card rooms in California. You can register online – you do not have to enter the casino!
• Tribal Casinos (with slot machines)
  • Each Tribal American casino has its own forms and policies. You must contact them individually about their program. We recommend you call the “gaming commission,” “security department,” or “department of public safety” of the casino(s) you wish to ban/restrict yourself from for more information about their program(s).

Self-Restriction

Self-restriction works the same as self-exclusion, but is only for California Card Rooms, and only applies to a single card room or even just specific games (such as blackjack or poker) or casino services (such as check cashing, marker issuance or marketing).

• Self-Restriction Form – note that the terms of the restriction may vary by the individual card room’s policy.
   

Third Party Exclusion

If an immediate loved one (such as a spouse, parent or child) has a problem with gambling, you may be able to request “third-party exclusion” to ban the gambler you are requesting it for. Once/if approved, third party exclusions work in the same ways as self-exclusion.

As of 2019, only a few tribal casinos and no California Card Rooms offer third party exclusion, and the requirements to exclude someone in this way are usually very strict. However, if the program is available at your loved one’s casino of choice, it can be a very helpful tool. We recommend you call the casino’s “gaming commission” to find out if it is available.