Gambling on net hooks more Kiwis | Bay of Plenty News | Local News in Bay of Plenty

Internet gambling addictions to games such as Texas Hold'em Poker are on the rise, a Tauranga psychologist working with problem gamblers says.

Margaret Sloan, a psychologist at the Tauranga Problem Gambling Foundation, is seeing an increased number of clients hooked on internet gambling.

"It's a serious problem for people - the amount of money and the amount of time spent on the computer," Ms Sloan said. "Some of the clients believe it's as harmful as the pokie machines. It's so accessible."

Ms Sloan expected the problem to increase as the computer generation came of age.

Her comments come as social agencies promote National Gamblefree Day today.

Ministry of Health figures show that 284 people in Tauranga and the Western Bay sought help from various services for problem gambling last year. The figures were a 58 per cent increase on 2008, when 179 people sought help.

The spend on pokie machines in Tauranga and the Western Bay was $33.8 million last year - down slightly from $34.5 million in 2008.

Ms Sloan believed gambling problems were no longer as hidden as they once were.

"People seem to be more willing to talk about it now, and there seems to be more awareness out there about the issue. I think people have wised up to it."

Jeanette Arnold, who works for The Salvation Army's Oasis Centre for Problem Gambling, said the annual Gamblefree Day was aimed at raising awareness of problem gambling's destructive nature.

"It's trying to get people to talk about it, or feel it's okay to talk about it, or to come out about it and seek help," Mrs Arnold said. "Often people will end up feeling alone, and they don't realise there are also other people having counselling and not talking about it.

"It's a lot more common than people think. Clients feel a huge relief to discover they are not alone."

The effect of problem gambling on the wider community was huge, she said.

"It does affect everybody. If there's less income to go round for the necessaries of life, power bills, groceries and school things for children, it does affect the kids and family.

"It affects people because they can become quite deceptive and end up tricking everybody in their lives about what's going on.

"It brings them down, but it also means trust is lost by people close to them, and between employers and employees there are huge trust issues."

Mrs Arnold said gambling often masked a deeper problem and unresolved issues. The escape of gambling tended to cause more stress than the original problem, which could include abuse, self-esteem issues and grief.

"The pain of working through personal issues is a lot easier than the lifestyle of trying to live in secret, and the guilt and shame. People have shame about losing control about their gambling.

"What we are focusing on is a future without problem gambling, and we are saying you can start today," Mrs Arnold said.

But when does the occasional flutter become an addiction? Mrs Arnold said it was different for each individual. Signs could include kicking or "getting angry" at a pokie machine, becoming agitated, keeping secrets, and spending more money than intended.

"They might take a certain amount out, and they will be back within half an hour or an hour, taking out more money and disappearing into the gambling room again.

"They won't feel okay about saying to their family or partner 'I have gambled this much money this week' - they are not facing the amount," Mrs Arnold said.

The Salvation Army estimates 10,000 to 60,000 New Zealand adults are addicted to gambling.

Nationally, Oasis Centres for Problem Gambling helped 3200 problem gamblers and 950 relatives of problem gamblers last year. Demand jumped 16 per cent on the previous year - despite the gambling spend as a whole being slightly down.

Some of the by-products of problem gambling included debt, unemployment, poverty, mental and physical illness, relationship breakdown, domestic violence, fraud and other crimes.

National consultant for Salvation Army Oasis programmes Lisa Campbell-Sumlu said Gamblefree Day showed addicts an alternative existed: "It's to show that if a person can stop gambling for a day, they can stop for weeks, months or for life - that there is a future for them beyond gambling."

The Salvation Army's Oasis Centre for Problem Gambling was to hold a free sausage sizzle and poetry reading in Red Square today.

284 people in Tauranga and the Western Bay sought help for problem gambling last year, up from 179 in 2008.$33.8 million was spent on pokie machines in Tauranga and Western Bay last year, down from $34.5 million spent in 2008.

The Salvation Army estimates between 10,000 and 60,000 New Zealand adults are addicted to gambling.

More than $2 billion was spent on gambling last year. Signs of a gambling addiction include secrecy, spending more money than intended, agitation and "getting angry" at a pokie machine.

Need help with problem gambling? Ring the Problem Gambling Foundation on 0800 664 262.