In spite of the majority of New Zealanders gambling without harming themselves, a tiny percentage of them engage in gambling in some way, and the consequences can be severe. Here are a few warning signs to watch out for if you think you or someone you know is having gambling problems.
- Indulging in gambling without pause for long periods of time, or prioritizing gambling over other obligations.
- Trying to recuperate from gambling losses,
- Outbursts, anger, disappointment, and gambling-related mood swings
- Trying to self-exclude but failing to stick to it.
- Borrowing more money from kith and kin for gambling
- Spending a huge amount of time playing games.
- Gambling in secret, or lying about gambling to family or friends.
Oftentimes, this causes such a person to lose a lot of money, which further contributes to depression. A gambler may go bankrupt after losing a lot of money or even become insolvent. It leads to severe mental and physical depression. Gambling pathology is also known as compulsive gambling, a state in which the gambler continues to gamble despite negative consequences.
Chronic stress can cause further physical consequences such as hypertension when it persists for a long time. The gambler isolates himself and thus causes strained personal relationships. Often guilt and shame overpower them as they have borrowed huge sums of money from relatives and are unable to pay them back.
That barrier or distance makes them lose touch with people around them. They lose interest in all sorts of activities, and hobbies, and only gambling overpowers their mind. To prevent such conditions, New Zealanders (Kiwis) have introduced various tools as mentioned below.
SaferGambling NZ
Those who have or suspect they may have a gambling problem, as well as those who are concerned about someone else’s gambling issues, can access this site for assistance and information. New Zealanders can find information regarding NZ casino options and additional statistics.
Te Hiringa Hauora/Health Promotion Agency has developed a series of campaigns and initiatives aimed at increasing society’s understanding, awareness, and response to gambling-related problems. New Zealanders benefit from these initiatives by enhancing society’s response to gambling as well as preventing and reducing gambling-related damage.
Betblocker
BetBlocker is a free application that allows you to keep track of your gambling habits. It is a charity set up registered by the UK government to help addicts who are struggling with their gambling addiction. One can decide how long the block will last and it prevents the player from going through 13613 gaming online websites.
It has to be kept in mind that once the Betblocker is installed the punter is not allowed to go through any sort of gambling website until the exclusion time period is over. Additionally, BetBlocker offers a Parental Control feature that allows parents to block their children from accessing gambling websites by setting a password.
Introducing Gambling Helpline
The Gambling Helpline is a 24-hour, 7 days a week toll-free hotline that provides assistance, referrals, and information to people seeking help with gambling problems. People like addicts, their family members, and aware netizens are greatly benefitted from this service.
As the hotline for the government’s Choice Not Chance initiative, they are the first point of contact for many people with gambling problems or who wish to receive assistance. Using their Gambling Debt Helpline, you can obtain assistance and practical solutions to your gambling debt problems from counsellors trained in both financial and gambling counselling.
Gamban
As the industry standard for gambling prevention software, Gamban has grown every year since 2015. It is priced quite affordably and without any doubt helps to save lives from the addiction to gambling. Gamban is the most efficient and intelligent program that prevents access to gambling websites and apps.
Through first-hand experience with problem gambling and the most gifted minds in the field of self-exclusion software, Gamban is considered to be the most comprehensive cross-platform solution that has emerged for producing friction and promoting willpower in the fight against gambling addiction. Gamban has received a great deal of positive feedback from people around the world, some of whom have reported that it has saved their lives.
Manaaki
A new app has been developed by New Zealand to help people who wish to minimize the damage of gambling. A trial of the app is being conducted across the country to determine whether it can reduce or stop people who find gambling no longer enjoyable for a period of 12 weeks.
The app was created by the National Institute of Health Innovation at Auckland University with help obtained from Deakin University in Australia and Hpai Te Hauora, a non-profit gambling addiction prevention organization. The app ensures an evidence-based treatment that can be done anywhere.
Gambling can be considered a safe form of entertainment that generates huge revenue worldwide. But its gruesome impact can be curbed if the above-mentioned tools are widely utilized. This will surely improve the quality of life, and urge to participate and will help in community empowerment.
