Gambling

We don’t really understand why, but many accountants seem to enjoy a flutter! Perhaps it is the challenge of the mental arithmetic, juggling form, bets and odds and calculating the best prospect. Perhaps it is the sheer excitement, the thrill of the anticipation of winning. Or possibly it is the slightly illicit feel. Accountants are often seen as steady, dependable people, cautious to the point sometimes of seeming a bit dull. They do not often come across as risk-takers but when deciding on a bet, they are behaving out of character and it feels good.

Gambling is a little like the other vices: alcohol, for example. It is also very like fire. Under control there is no harm in it. In the same way that a moderate drinker gets pleasure without damage to his health, a moderate gambler who decides in advance what he can afford to lose and who can and does avoid betting beyond that figure, can have a thoroughly enjoyable time at the races or in the casino. Betting has the ability to take us out of ourselves and so is relaxing and de-stressing.

Out of control it can do the most terrible damage. Problem gamblers begin to live for the thrill, the adrenaline rush. They focus not on the size of the bet but on the potential win, which they convince themselves is a certainty. The let down when that horse trails in fourth is devastating, because at that stage the enormity of what they have done, in other words just how much money they have lost, hits them like a train. It is shattering and deeply depressing.

But wait! The next bet will deal with that. We may have just lost a bundle but the next throw of the dice, the next hand or the next race will win everything back. And so the cycle starts all over again – excitement, adrenaline, disappointment, despondency, depression, excitement…………….

The damage can be dreadful. Problem gamblers can lose enormous sums of money and this can threaten their entire lives. Debts build up, family lifestyles can be threatened and husbands, wives or partners and children can be badly hurt. Under such pressure there may even be the temptation to steal to fund the losses – over the years gambling has wrecked the careers of far too many otherwise capable and intelligent accountants. Invariably there will be a clear intention merely to “borrow” some money and to pay everything back immediately but of course, odds are always stacked in favour of the bookmaker or the casino.

Even if the gambler stays honest and does not stray into using other people’s money, the debt can finish a career: bankrupts cannot remain members of the accountancy professions.

Perhaps the most damaging effect of all is to the gambler’s self-esteem. The guilt caused by losing money the family needs is a terrible burden to carry and can lead to depression, desperation and even attempted suicide. As the debts mount, the business, family home and other assets are in danger of being lost as the financial situation gets out of control. Family and friends may turn away, bitterly hurt and angry that their trust has been abused as they realise that money they have ‘loaned’ is never going to be repaid. Gamblers have lost everything; contact with their partners, their children, other family members, even their homes, their businesses and their careers.

Problem gamblers are dreamers. They dream of making huge amounts of money without effort and of then being able to be generous with family and friends. They simply do not live in the real world, a world in which casinos and bookmakers make fat profits and odds are always arranged in their favour.

There is also a well-supported theory that gamblers do it to punish themselves.

But, all is not lost. There are ways to help people in difficulties with gambling. Gamblers Anonymous say that it can best be described as an illness, something that takes over an individual and makes it almost impossible for them to fight back for themselves. They describe how a gambler will persuasively argue that there is no real problem and that they are still in control. That they will go to extreme lengths to hide from family and colleagues that they have a ‘problem’ and may continue with a lifestyle which makes it appear that there are no debts or financial concerns. They get so far into the grip of gambling that they can only escape with considerable amounts of help and support and they will almost inevitably “fall off” their recovery programme from time to time. Unless and until they are able and willing to say “I need help because I cannot do this without it”, they will be totally unable even to begin to break the cycle and stop betting.

You may feel that your gambling addiction and your debts have got to such a stage that there is no way out. There is. There is support and there are people who want to help. It will be difficult and the problems won’t disappear overnight. We realise that the most difficult step will be the first one - admitting to yourself and to others that you have a problem – but only you can take that first step. We are here to help you take the next ones.

If you even suspect that you may have a problem, or if you know someone who does, take a look at the GA website. You will find, amongst a wealth of valuable information, a twenty-question section with which you can measure your own vulnerability or dependence.

Call CABA's 24 hour Advice and Counselling Helpline on 0800 107 6163 to talk in total confidence to a counsellor.

If your life is being affected by someone who has a gambling problem, you may find the Gamanon website helpful - www.gamblersanoymous.org.uk  You can also call 0800 107 6163 to talk to a counsellor in total confidence.

Don’t leave it until yet more damage has been done.   Do it now!

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