Gambling addicted friend ( I am located in Canada )
 

Gambling is certainly not limited to those fabulous sexy casinos, such as Las Vegas, you see in Hollywood movies

Scratch lottery, sport betting is also gambling anyone can do anywhere outside casinos any time of the day

( and that makes it even more brutal than casinos because casinos are physical and therefore you cannot possibly play, once you leave the casino areas )

Just how brutal is it for him

Yesterday he texted me that he lost $90 USD. He "invested" $120 USD and he proudly won $30 USD

Now imagine the accumulation of his money disappearing into the air, over the course of one year....

He cannot even afford busfare but he gladly crashes all his money into gambling. He says he is "investing" I keep on telling him it is not "investment" and he is simply throwing his money into the trash can

Gambling is designed in the way that everyone loses $100 USD and wins maybe $20~30USD back. That is a bait. If nobody wins even the small amount then nobody will play.

I did visit very famous casino areas in Asia a few times, and a few things I remember are

- Yes, it is true, for famous games such as bacarrat and blackjack, you won't ever see a vacant seat
- Even for lesser famous games such as slot machines, you won't ever see a vacant seat
- I listened carefully. You will hear many kinds of sounds, such as cards being shuffled, dealers and customers having conversations, and chips being moved, but you won't ever hear happy laughters
- I saw a man losing $200USD in front of me once, within the span of 30 seconds. And whyyyyy on earth should I ever play such disastrous games. It also was an extremely simple game. First, the player chooses either 1,3,5 or 2,4,6, and the dealer will simply roll the dice.

The best thing to do, when it comes to gambling, is staying away from it altogether,

and the second best thing to do, is carry $300 USD cash, leave all your credit cards and bank cards at home, happily lose all of the $300 USD after a few hours, and come home.

I thought this was gonna have a point(.) instead of ranting other people's opinions and the way it is/ain't. (...tiny percents :) infinite years* :eek:)

If you and others truly think there's a problem have interventions, any real addiction get support groups!


But, I guarantee you* got problems. :hattip:

i have a gambling habit, but what i have done is that i have set monthly deposit limits on gambling sites. i have some extra cash to spend on sports gambling and with deposit limit it doesnt matter if i lose or win.

i have won sometimes 1.6k euros with deposit of 100ish euros.

I remember my father had a system, which worked as follows:
1) Work out the maximum amount you can lose without caring.
2) Buy that amount of chips.
3) If you win a throw, put those chips aside. Don't add them to your stake chips.
4) When your stake chips are gone, cash in any winnings and leave. That way, you can't lose more than you agreed to lose at the beginning and you might lose less if you're lucky.

That would work for a casino.It doesn't work for online betting, which is by all accounts even more addictive. You can't "leave your credit card at home" when you are at home.

thats a good one.

my method is that i try to double my deposit.

I read some interesting things about those one-armed bandit type machines you find at the supermarket checkout; basically this: over time, you cannot ever win. The playout is maximum 90% of what you put in.
Personally I also think that they're programmed in a way that "freak wins" are impossible, but of course someone with an addiction will always claim differently.

Based on the first post, this friend has a compulsive problem.

I feel the only thing they should do is abstain and work on things to help them maintain that abstinence.

I've always felt that any gimmicks are pointless if you are already compulsive. You either can or cannot make a decision to stop once you've started. If you've demonstrated that you cannot decide to stop, then it's just as risky to allow yourself some partial allowance because eventually you'll break that allowance.

What's up with the apparent showy behavior of sending new updates about their most recent adventures? Seems like they want people to know about them.

Is that still allowed in your country? In the UK, it would be illegal.

Yes, and they're sharply regulated, as explained above.
Additionally, there's a red line around them which you're not allowed to cross unless you're 15 (possibly 18, not sure).
I say this with deep sarcasm, I can imagine nothing worse: make it visible to everybody, then make it more desirable for kids by marking it forbidden.
Some visual impressions:
https://hs.mediadelivery.fi/img/978/...5c4c5.jpg.webp (you can see the red line)
https://im.mtv.fi/image/4818034/land...hapeli-ray.jpg
https://img.ilcdn.fi/6YWAV9wBM_38epU...9fa145832f.jpg

Tyat said, phone game addiction is probably a bigger problem with kids.

Have the US and Canada turned in to lands of legal thieves, where they line up and try to take as much money as the can from the unwittingly willing? If an exdrunk with 11 yr sober can do it, so can your friend, if that friend WANTS to and is TIRED of being unable to quit on his own (absolute prerequisites). 12-Step progams work for some, I can testify to it.

Otherwise, move to Nevada and die happy a la "Leaving Las Vegas." (Not unfeeling, but is there another and better way should the addicted refuse to acknowledge their harming others with their behavior?)

"Trickle down," indeed!

Nobody spoke about the US of NA so far.
At least 2 other countries were mentioned (judging from the posters' sidebars), namely Finland and the UK, so what you bemoan is not limited to those 2 countries, either.

Beyond that, I find your statements needlessly inflaming and generalising: "addicted refuse to acknowledge their harming others with their behavior". This might be true in many cases, but not as a rule. Addiction does not necessarily harm others.

I've never understood how someone could get addicted to poker machines you would find in pubs here. I remember sitting at one being bored s*itless, it was so boring. The lights and sounds just don't do it for me personally.

At the end of the day, if you don't want to give up, it'll never happen. People can come up whatever nonsense they like about it, the only universal truth in the matter is: only you can do it. Full stop, period. Regardless of whatever it is you're "addicted" to, gambling, drugs, whatever.

I do not agree. It can be more difficult for this person, but not for you.
What you like to do, other people also are bored.
Maybe difficult for you stop doing something else?

Is it not ironic that an "LQ Addict" would take offence at the truth that addicts hurt others around them?

Addiction is an opinion;
we all learn young like pups! :p

Physics on the other hand, is not as much everything
within natural science...