small gambling problem: study

By Tim Jeanes The risks of gambling addictions are well-known - poverty, relationship breakdown and mental illness. And it seems that there is no such thing as a small problem. New research in Tasmania has revealed that gamblers do not need to be high rollers to lose everything they own, sparking calls for tighter regulation of the nation's gaming industry. Policy and research officer for Anglicare Tasmania, Margie Law, says people do not need to spend much to actually have a very big gambling problem. "Some of the participants were spending as little as $30 a week or even $15 a fortnight but because they were on low incomes, even that amount of money was too much money for them when they had very little disposable income," she said. "The end result is participants had lost families, they'd lost partners, they'd lost jobs, they'd lost their houses." Ms Law says the study also found that many participants went without food so they could continue to feed their habit. "They prioritised gambling over expenditure on food because they found it so hard to control their gambling," she said. Participants in the study also revealed they had contemplated or attempted suicide while others had contemplated or actually carried out some criminal acts. A northern Tasmanian woman, who wants to be known only as Mary, knows what it is like to lose everything to poker machines. She was spending as much as $500 a week, eventually causing her to forfeit $150,000 worth of investments and property. But in some ways Mary considers herself lucky - her husband stood by her when she she confronted the problem. "I went home one night, and I said look, I've got a gambling problem," she said. "You can either help me get over it or you have the option to divorce me, take your pick. "He got up and put his arms around me and he said, 'I know and I'm here for you'." 'A lot of heartache' But others are not so fortunate - Mary says she has seen too many battlers lose their lives, for sometimes small amounts of money. "I've been a witness to a lot of tears, a lot of heartache," she said. "I've seen elderly pensioners have their purses taken when they've gone to the toilet. "I've seen them walk out of the venues crying, wondering what they're going to have for the next fortnight and I've instructed them to go to the Salvation Army for some food vouchers - just pitiful."