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Exploring the Issue of Gambling Addiction If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit gambling entirely, or if you have little control over the amount you bet, you are probably a compulsive gambler. A compulsive gambler is described as a person whose gambling has caused growing and continuing problems in any department of his or her life. Twenty Questions These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling. • Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling? • Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy? • Did gambling affect your reputation? • Have you ever felt remorse after gambling? • Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties? • Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency? • After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses? • After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more? • Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone? • Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling? • Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling? • Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures? • Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family? • Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? • Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom, or loneliness? • Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling? • Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? • Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble • Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling? • Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide, because of your gambling? Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions. GAMBLING ADDICTION

Characteristics of someone struggling with a Gambling Addiction may include, but are not limited to: • My gambling makes me careless of the welfare of myself and/or my family. • I have borrowed money, sold possessions, and/or committed an illegal act to finance gambling. • After losing I felt the need to return as soon as possible and win back my losses or after a win had a strong urge to return and win more. • I have lost time at work, school, home, and with friends to gamble. • At times, I have been defensive about my gambling and justified my right to gambling, especially when trying to escape worry or stress. • I was trapped in the illusion of “just one more time.” Or “this time it will be different.” • When I did seek help, I was only looking for the pain to go away. • My track record shows that it is impossible for me to gamble in any form. How We Find Recovery Through a relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Higher Power, and by working through the 8 principles and the Christ-centered 12 steps, we can find freedom from our hurts, hang ups and habits. Characteristics of someone in recovery for Gambling Addiction may include, but are not limited to: • Accept Jesus Christ as Higher Power • Work the 12-step recovery process diligently and consistently. • Living without gambling one day at a time with the help of the Higher Power, Jesus Christ. • Staying away from that first bet. If there isn’t a first one, there cannot be a 10th one. And when free of gambling, life becomes much more manageable. • Experiencing the true peace and serenity you have been seeking. • Restoring and developing stronger relationships with God and with others. • Stop relying on dysfunctional, compulsive, and addictive behaviors as a tem-porary “fix” for pain. • Learning how to serve others out of the freedom you are finding. GAMBLING ADDICTION, cont.