Time to give up... Gamcare?!

Recently I noticed moderators trying to censor the chatrooms by making debates rather moderate and steering the topics away from any criticism of the gambling industry. Also noticed some posts about the worrying connection that Gamcare is funded by the gambling industry and therefore, pressumably a 'tool' of the industry (which got us all in this mess)! Now it makes sense and I have joined the dots, but it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Whilst I'm grateful for the nice people and kind words I've recieved here, it hasn't worked for me or many others. So I'm now wondering if its given me a false sense of hope so considering other options, including, ironically, quitting Gamcare!

Its obvious that the industry's regulation and Gamcare isn't working at all. In 2012, 15 years after Gamcare was formed, at least 1 in 200 people had a gambling problem with 1 in 20 gamblers at risk of becoming a problem gambler in England. In Wales at least 1.1% of the entire population admitted to a gambling problem!!! Thats at least 500,000 problem gamblers, over 0.5% of the UK population. '2016 was a record growth year in the UK gambling industry' (Daily Mirror). So since Gamcare formed, problem gambling has increased?

Here is a detalied criticism:-

1. As gamcare is funded by the gambling industry, pressumably by a fairly fixed percentage, any reduction in gambling profits might result in a drop in Gamcare funding, which it pressumably doesn't want. If Gamcare wanted to prevent problem gambling (which ironically isn't its remit) it would aim to prevent the problem at source e.g. having an ID system that is needed to gamble, so someone can instantly self-exclude from ALL gambling facilities and it being enforced by law. Once someone has a problem and its so bad that they have contacted Gamcare, its often 'too late' to an extent as they have often spent their life savings and done other things that cannot be undone.

2. Gamcare states 'We do not allow the forum to be used as a venue for lobbying against the gambling industry.' Which means it's users cannot unite to make gambling safer for others. For example I started gambling myself around age 10 and was addicted to 18+ machines by age 16, yet Gamcare refuses to discuss how endemic this is, and is doing nothing to actually safegaurd children, other than having a polite chat with them. In my own town the 18+ areas mostly have no staff by the door and a toddler can just walk in off the street, before they might eventually be spotted on CCTV. A child standing on the street can hear and see the machines in the 18+ area, the lights, the promotions, the snacks etc, priming them for future addiction. There is no door or covering; the area is completely open and visible. Gamcare doesn't care about this, or want to change it. I know this because I've tried to raise the issue with them but they weren't interested, hence the tone of this article. There are strict rules for the sale of alcohol, even to 17 year olds, shops are even checked, tested and fined. There is no such system for gambling that I know of. UKplc is continuing to boost the profits of Gambling, via childhood addiction and marketing which can be viewed by children, from Bingo adverts on TV to bright shopfronts on the high street.

3. Gamcare does not want to reduce the profits of the gambling industry, or the amount of gambling, or reduce the stakes, number of venues, or amount of advertising. Without wanting to make any changes whatsoever the problem will never get any better for society as a whole. Without wanting to curb the problems at source it makes quitting all the more harder for the addicts. It likes saying 'its not the heroin dealer's fault, they are providing a service that some people enjoy responsibly; it's up the addicts to have the willpower to stop. Don't stop the dealers, just don't buy it and don't give a flying **** about any other unfortunate soul that might suffer the same fate in future.'

5. Gamcare only, vaguely, focuses on 'healing' each person individually, rather than allowing us to unite to make the kind of political changes that are needed to make people truly safe. Its a bit like trying to crush a trade union so that people instead only focus on their own self-interests and are therefore less organised and relevant.

7. All Gamcares literature and website apparently makes little or no difference; profits from gambling continue to skyrocket, deregulation continues, existing rules are not enforced. If anything Gamcares literature in Gambling venues gives a flase sense of security, in my option. I.E. local bookies full of signs about responsible gambling. Excluded myself. Went back several times weeks later, spent month's wages in a few hours, not challenged. Gambling venues are under no pressure to enforce self-exclusion and Gamcare does want want to change this.

8. Gamcare is full of people like myself who have been failing to quit for years. I first joined Gamcare 5 years ago having had a problem for over 15 years. After a few years I was able to get Skype counselling through a partner provider, though this was only because I found the link myself, it was never recommended by Gamcare staff as far as I remember. When I drifted away from Gamcare having failed to quit there was never any attempt to contact me to see if I had actually stopped or in fact got worse. Therefore any statistics cannot be accurate as they are not recording whether they are really making any difference and not proactively helping people to stop, even when you have contacted them begging for help.

9. Gamcare don't seem to recommend any physical measures like cutting up cashcards, hypnosis etc, it seems they are not allowed to. All the best advice comes from other ex addicts it seems; Gamcares advice seems rather muted and incohearant, even, ironically, random!

10. Gamcare draws attention AWAY from Gordon Moody, misleadingly describing them as 'Gordon Moody Association Midlands & South East' when in fact they are they had been operating for 26 years when Gamcare was formed in 1997 and their services are avilable to the whole UK. Gordon Moody offer the only residential treatment program for gambling in the UK, yet despite this Gamcare does not recommend this and distracts from this by demoting them to being just 'Midlands and South East.' Gamcare does not offer any actaul treatment other than paying other people to pay other people to do some counselling which of course doesn't instantly or definitely solve the problem. The gambling industry does not want addicts to stop, thats why they fund Gamcare and control it(?) in a way that increases their profits.

11. The forum is rammed full of people who are broke and desperate and coming for help for the first time, yet all Gamcare seems to offer is a few random and inconsistent words of comfort, if you are lucky. There is no proper, serious P rocess for helping people or even checking on their progress, as I have found myself. It appears much of the time people join this forum, in tears, pouring out their problems and begging for help, there is little or no response and the gambler goes back to funding the gambling industry, perhaps sometimes coming to the website in-between paydays.

12. By covering the shop-fronts and interiors of casinos, arcades and bookies in posters that say 'Safe' and 'Responsible' Gamcare promotes and endorces gambling and contributes to the overall psychological manipulation of punters, which Gamcare is forbidden to discuss. You have to search outside of Gamcare to find any article about such topics. When you do there any many well written highly academic studies.

I appreciate a charity cannot be political, but if you are not bothered that the existing laws are not enforced AND are funded by this 'lesuire' industry (that is leading to suicide, divorce, depression and homelessness etc) which you falsely boast is responsible and want to change absolutely nothing about ...you are potentially closer to a crimminal organisation than a charity.