Post 12

Sports Betting - NOT!

This week an unusual high school basketball game took place. Though the mega-favored team did win, their victory was managed only after three overtime periods and eventually countering the opposing team's relentless stalling strategy. Statistically unexpected, the final 38-31 score exhibited the losing team's possession drills that predominated their floor play.

We are in the midst of basketball season now. And every year, unusual stories surface about unexpected wins, unfortunate injuries, or illegal betting occurences. Although it may seem unnecessary to post reminders about the don'ts with regard to sports wagering by athletes, temptations do arise and very unfortunate consequences, sometimes, take place.

Whether an athlete (on any official team) is connected with high school, college, or professional sports, the no wagering policy holds. This means ...

• NO bets on ANY official team sports events
• NO sports pools: NONE!
• NO internet gambling on sports
• NO information sharing about your team to ANYONE who gambles: NOTHING! (including physical condition of players, team spirit, coaching and/or discipline issues, etc.)

Why the draconian NO's ? Here are quite possible consequences of sports betting by players:

• sports career can end - at any level
• expulsion from school: academic career can be severely jeopardized
• personal humiliation
• family humiliation
• team humiliation
• financial ruin
• present and future employment status at risk
• incarceration ... future employment at risk (again)
• emotional turmoil and possible development of compulsive gambling problems

As with other personal situations of problem gambling, there are signs, also, to identify a compulsive sports gambler. My GRM Blog February Post will describe these signs for which to watch.

Enjoy the basketball season; don't bet; and stay safe!

For more information on problem gambling and recovery issues, go to http://www.grmumc.org/

Rev. Janet Jacobs

Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries 

Post 11

Indeed … A Blessed Christmas to You!
In recent years, it seems that each December presents me with conversations about the upcoming holiday season. Yes, words of excitement and joyful anticipation are spoken – at times. However, it is, certainly, not uncommon to hear personal laments concerning the rush-rush-rush to amass gifts, decorations, and rich holiday foods.

In the midst of it all, I recall the Christmas, several years ago, when my father died. Unexpectedly Dad, almost 93 years old, broke his hip and passed on a few days later, right before Christmas. Hit by a monster blizzard, unexpectedly (again) conducting my own father’s funeral service, travel plans drastically altered … I didn’t care if there weren’t any decorations, stockings, tree, fruitcake, or even cookies. The calendar contained the date December 25 but it was like no other 12/25 experienced before.
That year reminded me, continuously, as we ploughed through the holiday season, of others – known and unknown – who suffer tragedy within their daily lives – regardless of any special date. Unfortunately, many folks are not immune to debilitating difficulties brought on by dysfunction. Families touched by addiction may even dread holidays deemed by society to be filled with happiness and love.

The families of compulsive gamblers (not yet in recovery) may very well anticipate the shutting off of electricity instead of a brightly lit Christmas tree. A loved one may be in prison for gambling offenses. A loved one may chose to gamble and not participate in a holiday event or gathering. Sadness, anger, fear … all may reign in the lives of those affected by compulsive gambling.

How then, can life be lived … special times remain special … blessings (of all kinds) be experienced – when dysfunction from compulsive gambling reaches into and impacts the lives of wives, husbands, children, siblings, and friends? Humbly, I offer the following suggestions – and pray that they may be of special help.

• Contact Gam-Anon Phone: (718) 352-1671 and
  Web Site: http://www.gam-anon.org/ for specific advice and real-life consultation with persons directly affected by compulsive gambling. They know what you are experiencing and they truly care.
• Ask for spiritual help. Consult with a clergy person and ask specifically for prayer.
• Be deliberate about involving all family members in a holiday project – especially one with a giving-to-others nature. Working in a community soup kitchen, reading together holiday literature selected at the library, or just saying holiday greetings to persons met in public: thus barriers of self-imposed isolation and feelings of aloneness can be broken.
• Tailor-make limits and boundaries ahead of the special holiday so that expectations will be realistic to your setting. Don’t compare. Find excitement in celebrating your own unique context.
• Look for and find the spiritual essence of your celebration. Attend a special service. Read holy literature. Say prayers for each other.
  
  May God, indeed, bless you with divine love that affirms, strengthens, and brings you peace!

For more information on problem gambling and recovery issues, visit http://www.grmumc.org/

Rev. Janet Jacobs
Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries

Post 10

More Federal Legislation ... in the Oven??

September's Blog carried a notice that the reality of legalized internet gambling may be just around the corner. H.R.2267 - the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act - passed out of House committee and would be headed for debate on the floor. (See Post 9, dated September 19, for more information on this proposed piece of legislation.)

Now, comes recent news that two other bills are bringing into focus further concerns with regard to gambling in America. H.R. 2906 proposes to amend the Public Health Service Act to specifically include problem and pathological gambling in programs of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Included, also, in this bill are provisions to establish a national program to address the harmful consequences of problem gambling.

The Senate's version of the House bill is S. 3418 - the Comprehensive Problem Gambling Act of 2010. Similarly, this bill proposes to amend the Public Health Service Act to include, in programs of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, programs to research, prevent, and address the harmful consequences of pathological and problem gambling.

What is important for all of us to know is that there are murmurings of concerted efforts to combine the House bills - in other words, to lump the legalization of internet gambling along with a national program to address harm resulting from compulsive gambling.

My question is WHY do these two very different pieces of legislation need to be under one heading? Surely, I am in favor of a national outreach that is designed to deal with the harmful consequences of problem/pathological gambling. This would indicate both a prevention focus and substantial help to those adversely affected by gambling addiction. Could not this focus of national dimension be significant enough to stand alone? Again, obviously, I think so.

However, the bill calling for the legalization of internet gambling opens up an entirely different category of concern. Once more, I ask: why should this be lumped with an entirely different piece of legislation? Most assuredly, there are distinctly, different camps of opinion on these two very different issues. (For consideration of red flags concerning internet gambling, see Post 9 of the GRM Blog.)

In addition, we need to be aware that these bills may very well be introduced during the Lame Duck Session following the elections in November. Representatives and Senators do pay attention to direct-to-their-offices phone calls and letters. Please, write/call your Congressional representatives and give them your opinion of such proposed legislation - and how these pieces should be officially presented. Your voice truly does count!

For more information on problem gambling and recovery issues,
visit http://www.grmumc.org/

Rev. Janet Jacobs

Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries 

Post 9

Legalized Internet Gambling Approaching Reality?

Will internet gambling soon become legal in our country? Most recently, the U.S. House of Representatives Finance Committee has caused a stir of debate and discussion over this topic. Eventually, H.R.2267 - the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act - passed out of committee. Introducing this bill, Representative Barney Frank defended it as he argued that the federal government's purpose is not to prevent individuals from making foolish legal purchases.

Still, there were amendments added in effort to provide potentially safer curbs to internet gambling. These additions to the bill are the following:

• a provision stating that persons behind on child support payments will be blocked from legalized internet gambling by the sites themselves;
• any sites that disregard U.S. laws, with respect to internet gambling, will be blocked from obtaining a license;
• a database of statistics will be created; such a base will not reveal private information with regard to gamblers' identities.

H.R. 2267 will now move to the House floor for consideration and debate.

With this immediately in mind, let us take a moment to review certain key aspects of internet gambling that wave several, significant red flags of impending danger:

• accessibility to gambling will become a 24-7/ no-need for transportation/ no-need for leaving home activity;
• therefore, internet gambling may, very well, encourage secret betting and increased personal isolation;
• many children have access to their parents' credit cards and many parents are unaware of their children's PC activities

Keep ears and eyes upon this bill. Contact your U.S. Representative.

Learn more about the dangers of internet gambling at:

http://www.800gambler.org/ArticleDetails.aspx?ContentID=53

http://www.800gambler.org/ArticleDetails.aspx?ContentID=12

For more information on problem gambling and recovery issues,

visit http://www.grmumc.org/

Rev. Janet Jacobs

Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries 

Post 8

School's In! Let the Gambling Begin??



Yellow buses roaming neighborhood streets, school parking lots full, back packs and lunch boxes on sale, and "Freshmen Welcome!": all signs that school is back in session. Then too, on college campuses, there are other indications of, once-again, student activity: abundant credit card applications, laptops in every dorm room, the shuffle of cards, and the jingling of poker chips in student gathering spots. Signs of on-campus gambling ... or, at least, fertile grounds for student gambling? You betcha.



But let's not limit this assumption to the college arena. Several years ago, a friend employed by a nearby school system, shared with me what had happened one day. After lunch, sixth graders had excitedly reported to him "Mr. ---, we've been gambling!" Of course, my friend passed on this communication with a prompt message to the principal. Turns out, the kids had been playing poker in the cafeteria for money. Gladly, I can share that there was follow-up by the administration to this incident.



An exceptionally rare event? Perhaps in some schools. Perhaps, not. Children may begin gambling as early as grade school age (age 10) and usually continue their gambling over a number of years. Keith Whyte, Director, National Council on Problem Gambling, observed in 2006, that “Approximately 70 percent of kids between the ages of 12 and 17 have gambled at least once in the past year. That’s the highest [percentage] in our nation’s history.” (Current Health 1, February 2006). That was more than four years ago. Have things changed since then? I welcome comments to this Blog in answer to that question.

On the college scene, the National Council on Problem Gambling reports the rate of gambling on sports by college students is twice as high as that of adults. Also noted by NCPG is that an estimated 30% of 18 million college students will gamble on sports this year alone (2007). Once more, that was three years ago ... Remember, gambling is not limited to sports betting. On-line gambling , with all of its built-in dangers, is quite accessible with over 2,000 websites and the point spread is highly publicized in the media. Of course, poker games may dot campasses like raindrops on a windshield during a thunder storm.

What then, are signs of a child/teen/young adult problem gambler? Mainly, look for the following:
* missing school, activities, or other events due to gambling
* grades dropping
* displays an intense interest in sports related literature or sporting events on TV
* makes a few calls a week to sports phone
* gambling jargon has increased during conversation
* large amounts of money or an exaggerated display of clothes or jewelry are shown
* gambles to escape worry or trouble
* family members or friends have noticed a change in personality (irritable, sarcastic) * money is heavily borrowed and some personal or family items are missing

Let us remember that this is the first generation of Indiana youth who have been exposed to legalized gambling and an array of advertising (for various gambling venues) throughout their lives. Youth who have an addiction to gambling are more likely to have:

(1) parents with gambling problems
(2) become involved in illegal activities
(3) experience suicidal thoughts
For information on treatment and support recovery groups, go to http://www.grmumc.org/

Rev. Janet Jacobs
Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries 

Post 7

Do You Know ...

about Indiana's Voluntary Exclusion Program?

Did you know that there are currently over 1,374 people in Indiana who are participating in the Voluntary Exclusion Program (VEP) from our State's casinos?

Word from the Indiana Problem Gambling Treatment Resource Network describes this program as one that allows individuals to self exclude from all Indiana casinos by completing just one form.

Below is the bare-bones information on enrollment and removal.

ENROLLMENT: A person may sign up at any Indiana casino or at the Indiana Gaming Commission office in Indianapolis for one year, five years, or lifetime exclusion.

The list of excluded persons is confidential. A Request for Voluntary Exclusion Form must be completed in person, witnessed by a gaming agent or staff member. Once enrolled, it is the responsibility of the VEP participant to stay away from gaming areas of the casinos.

REMOVAL: A person signed up for one or five years may request removal from the program at the expiration of that time period.

A Request for Removal Form must be completed in person, witnessed by a gaming agent or staff member. Pending Indiana Gaming Commission approval, the person will then be removed from the program.

You can obtain more information about this program at www.in.gov/gaming or by calling the Indiana Gaming Commission at (317) 234 - 3600.

For information on a brochure containing information on the VEP program contact the Division of Mental Health and Addiction: Indiana Family and Social Services Administration at (317) 232 - 7800 or www.in.gov/fssa/dmha

This can be a very motivating factor in helping gamblers to abstain from casino gambling!

Does anyone have success (or not) stories to share on the VEP Program?

For further information on problem gambling and recovery issues, visit http://www.grmumc.org/

Rev. Janet Jacobs

Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries 

Post 6

Compulsive Gambling: Isn't It Like Any Other Addiction?

Recently, I had a conversation with a person with a professional background in counseling. She shared that she had counseled problem gamblers and then finished the sentence exclaiming, An addiction is an addiction is an addiction! They are all the same. Believe me, it wasn't the first time I had heard such a pronouncement.

Interestingly, this will be a featured topic in our upcoming Gambling Recovery Ministries' newsletter, the grm Resource Center. For a sneak peak, I am including a few details that will be discussed in distinguishing compulsive gambling from substance abuse and chemical dependency. Keep in mind that problem gambling and other addictive behaviors can intermingle, possibly blunting the uniqueness of compulsive gambling.

• While there is loss of control in all addictions, compulsive gambling is not self-limiting. It is not expected that excessive gambling would lead to intoxicated stupors.
• Gambling is easier to hide: no track marks, alcohol on the breath, etc.
• Children have a more difficult time understanding the compulsive gambling illness of their parents
• The intensity of family anger is stronger with multiple secrecy issues associated with the gambler's misuse of money
• There is less public awareness and acceptance of compulsive gambling as an illness

For these distinguishing differences and others, compulsive gambling is often considered less as a mental health issue - and more as an individual's moral weakness and problem. Unfortunately, when problem gambling is viewed only as a personal moral failing, treatment and support group therapy may not be regarded as viable options for the problem gambler's recovery. And that presents yet another difference between compulsive gambling and chemical dependency!
For more information on problem gambling and recovery issues, visit http://www.grmumc.org/

Rev. Janet Jacobs
Director, Gambling Recovery Ministries