I'm such an idiot to start playing online again!

[dominique]

Originally Posted by soflat

I don't think they were so wrong not to refund your losses. You gambled and lost. You need to take responsibility and not blame the casino for your mistake.

I do agree.

If addiction had no negative consequences, no one would ever feel compelled to quit.

Addiction is for life, unfortunately so. Everytime you let yourself slip, you will have a problem.

It is good for the casinos to prevent addicts from playing (for life!!! not 6 months) but it is you who is responsible for managing your addiction.

The alcoholic who slipped cannot claim his health back, and you can't claim your money back.

Chalk it up to a lesson learned... and you will benefit.

[jetset]

BWIN STUDY SHOWS LOW PERCENTAGE OF ONLINE PROBLEM GAMBLING

In a survey of 40 499 respondents, only 1 percent showed addictive signs

The Vienna listed Bwin Interactive online betting group has released an appetiser on the mammoth online gambling survey it has been working on with Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), an affiliate of the prestigious Harvard Medical School .

The full results of the study, which took place between February and October 2005 and embraced 40 499 players on the Bwin websites, are expected soon.

Speaking at the GIGSE conference in Montreal this week, CHA director Richard A LaBrie described the survey as the “first public study of actual e-gaming behaviour,” a statement that does not take into account an 11 000 respondent global study undertaken last year by the University of Nottingham Trent for eCOGRA.

LaBrie told delegates that the study showed that the median behaviour of bettors amounted to a spend of Euro 4 per day. According to the research, only 1 percent of the 40 499 respondents exhibited behaviour which could be read as problem gambling, or “discontinuously high”.

Euro 61.6 million was wagered during the study, and 7.8 million bets placed. For the 39 719 players classified as median bettors, total average wagers for the duration of the study was Euro 148.

Referring to the 1 percent of the sample who might be regarded as potentially problematic, LaBrie revealed that even these are only spending the equivalent of “maybe a good bottle of wine a day”, online.

Regarding the study methodology, all of the study’s participants were from the Bwin website, and the survey covered both account fixed-odds and live action betting.

[Let_It_Ride]

Originally Posted by Palace Group

Hi all,

We honoured the 6 month ban agreed upon by both parties and were in our right to accept the player again
Once the player informed us he still had a problem, we once again blocked/locked him.

I hope this clarifies why the player was allowed to deposit and play.

Kind regards,

Darran
The Palace Group

if you were in the right then why after 3 days (21st) did spin palace email me asking me to confirm that I no longer had a gambling problem before you could let me play? the proof is there man, but you only see what you want and twist the facts in your favour.

You also took over a week and 3 email reminders before you confirmed my account closed.

6 month ban, BS, when I closed my account I was told it was a life ban and also my details would be shared with MG database so I could never play at an MG casino again, well I have news for ya, I can still play at MG casinos

Why did I only name this casino and not the other? simple spin palace management in my experience have always been arrogant and would not even discuss this with me, at least the mangement of the other casino took time to talk to me.

[Let_It_Ride]

Originally Posted by NASHVEGAS

I dunno.
The tobacco companies tell me smoking may be hazardous to my health
The alcohol companies want me to drink responsibily
Casinos have an 800 number for gambling irresponsibily
My mother always told me not to play in the RAIN
and Now the condom companies tell me to wear a RAINCOAT.
What's a man to do???

enjoy your snide comments while you can my friend, because tomorrow it might be you who falls over and will need a helping hand.

[happygobrokey]

the net makes it super easy for addicts of many things to fall off the wagon. gambling, porn, shopping, even sexual predators might be attempting to recover and find the pull of the computer too strong. it isn't entirely logical to just eliminate computers from one's life, but surely there must be avenues to curtail the availability of such things. gamblock has been mentioned, but there must be free software of similar nature or other ways of preventing oneself having access to certain sites/services. what if you just uninstall all your casino software and instruct your computer to disallow access to all the sites you know host casinos? you may still be vulnerable to new casinos that open up and you somehow find them, but if you can find the power to block before you can download, then you can hopefully keep casinos out of your life. we could keep a list here so anyone interested in this could easily copy the list into their internet block list, plus it would be interesting to attempt to list the website of every active casino on the internet.

someone said "take a walk, make a call" etc to get your mind off it kind of thing, well even if the compulsion to gamble is go great it feels overwhelming, you could do this. take only your driver's licence and a reasonable sum of cash (100-200 maybe, something that is totally expendable), and NO means of getting more money on you (like a debit/credit card), drive out to a live casino. leave a twenty locked in the car just to cover any emergency situation on the road, and if you lose your money and think you're going out to the car for the twenty, once you get there to grab it, just jump in and head home. i liken this to a safe-shoot/methadone clinic, it gives you what you need at a minimum of risk. and also, knowing that for you to gamble would take driving x miles and consume at least h hours of your life, then you will begin to not want to do it. quitting smokers often lock their smokes up and put them in like 20 ziplocs so getting them out is so much of a pain that you'd rather not smoke given how much of a task it is.

and i think restricted supervised preportioned gambling is not as bad a thing as if a recovering alcoholic were to go out of town and have a drink. gambling has a point to it, to try and win money, and there is a possibility of doing some good by gambling. abusing a substance does harm every time. the tough bit with gambling is that the instrument that provides it sits right in your living room or wherever your internet hooks up. surely recovering alcoholics wouldn't keep bottles of liquor within arm's reach while trying to abstain.

the best advice for addiction is ONE DAY AT A TIME. that's only the best you can do. wake up each day, and try your hardest to do what you need to to survive and be healthy.

[lojo]

Great points Happy. I guess the thing to keep in mind is that no 'one way' works for everyone.
My condolensces to the OP. I hope you don't decide to change your mind again if gambling is not healthy for you.

I looked at GamCare sometime back when a similar discussion was going on here. I was impressed that they didn't seem to be a 12-step clone or another arm of moral re-armament, Buchmanism, et al.

I hope gamblers-anonymous has a higher 'recovery' rate than AA, which is dismal ( tho no actual controlled studies have been performed, AA's success rate can be charted to 5% which is worse than the 7% rate for 'spontaneous remission')

My basis for this 'opinion'? Much study, former facilitator for SMART recovery, and advocate in the judicial system for non-coercion to 12 Step programs (have even argued before a district judge in my own case and won)

"but aren't you a fine example lojo?" Yip, indeed I am. A month ago I was gutterdrunk on a half gallon of vodka a day, and now I enjoy my mead and beer again with no troubles.

I used shaman herbs to clear my brain, but I wouldn't suggest that to anyone else any more than I would suggest that 'you' are powerless over any inanimate substance or compulsive behavior. (extreme chemical imbalances aside)

If any one has had enough of a behavior, and wants to terminate it, I wouldn't suggest "just for today (for tomorrow i do it again)" I would suggest rational emotive behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or for the fix it yourself person, go to rational.org and take the crash course. {Just change 'alcohol' to gambling, heroin, overeating, whatever} It can free you of all the guilt and shame and remorse that may keep you repeating the behavior based on deciding to never do it again and never change your mind.

Good luck OP, and anyone else with a problem.

[catrina m]

Sometimes I find this hard to read. Gambling should be a fun pastime with no horror stories of losing house's and everything you own trying for the big win.Everyone ultimately is in control of thier own destiny. If you choose to gamble money you cant afford to lose, truth be told, you will lose it. Pay your bills, feed your family and perchance if you have a small suplus, risk it.

Risk is the key word. It is a risk to gamble. If you are sick as deemed by society as a problem gambler, no one can help you but yourself. Online casino's are no different than land based in that thier ultimate goal is to part you from your money. Yes, people do win but the majority lose.

Try to understand your basic human needs for survival. Take care of those first. Take care of the people who depend on you first. Then if you have the funds take a shot at the big brass ring. Do not depend on it. If you absolutely have to win to make it, you never will.

No group, or counseling, or paying someone to make your decisions can help you until you understand the word NO.

[cyprean]

Originally Posted by jetset

BWIN STUDY SHOWS LOW PERCENTAGE OF ONLINE PROBLEM GAMBLING

In a survey of 40 499 respondents, only 1 percent showed addictive signs
.

lol @ this study

[cyprean]

I believe that if we would have never stumbled upon gambling, we would all have richer lives.

[NASHVEGAS]

Originally Posted by Let_It_Ride

enjoy your snide comments while you can my friend, because tomorrow it might be you who falls over and will need a helping hand.

LIR , No intent to be snide and my post might not be clear but snide and kicking someone when they are down or need help never entered my mind. I will take the blame for being vague. I have studied addiction and even posted a long research article a few days ago based on dopamine and gambling addiction. Your thread opens a wide range of issues which most have been represented by fair and balanced differing views so I see no need to address my views other than I am sure you are aware of the necessary steps and yes addiction is an illness and will probably be a lifelong battle but if you want to win that battle ,only you can. I apolgize for a post that hopefully you will accept as a misunderstanding....best of luck. Nash.