Travis

Hi there Volcano

Thank you for your thoughts. I think the point to be made is that this site is focussed on personal recovery, rather than a debate on the whys and wherefores of the gambling industry and whether or not certain gambling products should exist. Whilst we completely accept your right to a point of view, we will intervene if threads become too focussed on industry. So if someone comes onto the forum looking for help, they can receive it, rather than their need for support getting lost in a debate about a gambling product. Also, it could be argued that the benefits of our site allow people to reflect on what may have led them to gambling, without simply attributing that to outside forces - i.e. a machine.

This has been the case since this forum began, and reflects to a large extent the neutrality GamCare holds towards gambling. We aren't a lobbying organisation and do not get involved in the politics behind gambling, but we offer our services to those that need a place to recover. Some of our users don't like this stance, but I hope that most people can value the service we do offer, which is a space for people to recover, reflect and receive support as necessary.

Rebecca

No answer there for me Rebecca as a perfectly valid point.

But maybe a another part of the forum, after we've done our reflection and not as a lobby group but some where, where we can vent our frustrations with regards to the machines of this world.

Saying that, I am happy for this thread to discontinue

Hi Rebecca , Surely part of reflection in recovery is about looking back at a cause and as the cause with many people on here is down to the FOBT'S , why not discuss them openly ?.

Hi Alan

I think for the most part we do allow an open discussion on here about gambling as people wish and it's actually quite rare that threads get closed down or we are heavy handed. People do openly discuss their feelings about FOBT's and their frustrations with them, as you have seen.

However there are some limits to this as I was saying above - in the past we have had users wishing to turn the forum towards a debate about the industry or the rights or wrongs of certain gambling products, and this is not what this service is for. We are a personal recovery forum. This also reflects GamCare's neutral stance towards gambling and our lack of involvement in regulation.

Hope this makes sense and answers your question about the forum's purpose

Rebecca

Dear GT

Sorry for the delay in answering your question - I think one of the reasons for this was that it refers to GamCare policy that not all of our mods would know about so immediately. It's not about making you wait - but thinking about what might be useful to write.

In terms of sharing data with gambling companies that's not really what our training services are about. They are more to do with the nature of problem gambling, how to recognise a problem, speaking to someone, what help is on offer, etc. It's not about future developments in gambling products or anything to do with regulation of the industry.

This forum is public and could be read by anyone at any time. Likewise we publish our helpline stats each year on the website so anyone can read them.

I'm not sure if that's what you were getting at, but I hope it answers your question.

Thanks

Rebecca