The 2007 Gambling Prevalence study found that there are around 280,000 (0.6 percent of UK population) problem gamblers in the UK.  To try to reduce that figure and make sure people gamble more responsibly, the government has opened a clinic in London specifically designed to treat problem gamblers.

The clinic in the Soho area of central London will also give advice as well as medical treatment and therapy for people whose gambling habits have got out of control.

It seems more and more people are trying to tackle their problem gambling as just last month gambling charity GamCare revealed a big increase in the number of calls to their helpline in 2007.  This was not attributed to the fact that there was a big rise in the number of problem gamblers, as the 2007 Gambling Prevalence survey showed that the number of problem gamblers in the UK was roughly the same as in the 1999 survey.  Therefore, the study concluded that the rise of online gambling hasn’t so far led to an increase in problem gambling.

As more and more problem gamblers are asking for help, the new clinic should be good news for people wanting to get their gambling habit under control.

With the world now being in a recession it is likely that the number of problem gamblers may well increase, as people struggle to pay the bills.  People usually gamble more in tough times but they should know their limits.  
The new London Clinic has attracted attention from doctors in Scotland.  They will be pushing the Scottish parliament to open a clinic for problem gamblers north of the border.  There is a disproportionately high number of problem gamblers in Scotland when compared with the rest of the UK – 25,000 in fact out of the UK total of 280,000, when you take into consideration that Scotland has a much smaller population than England.

Getminted Casino want people to have fun gambling and yes they do want you to gamble on their site (they are a business after all)  but they would like you to gamble in a responsible way and have included twelve questions gamblers should ask themselves to see if they have a gambling problem on their website.  They are:

Do you stay away from work, college or school to gamble?
Do you gamble to escape from a boring or unhappy life?
When gambling and you run out of money, do you feel lost and in despair, and need to gamble again as soon as possible?
Do you gamble until your last penny is gone, even the bus fare home or the cost of a cup of tea?
Have you ever lied to cover up the amount of money or time you have gambled?
Have others criticised your gambling?
Have you lied, stolen or borrowed just to get money to gamble or pay gambling debts?
Are you reluctant to spend ‘gambling money’ on anything else?
Have you lost interest in you family, friends or other interests?
After losing, do you feel like you must win back your losses as soon as possible?
Do arguments, frustrations or disappointments make you want to gamble?
Do you feel depressed or suicidal because of your gambling?
 
The more questions you answered yes to, the more likely you are to be a problem gambler.  Gambling should be fun, so if you or someone you know has a gambling problem, either get in contact with GamCare or the new NHS Clinic.

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