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Mark your calendars for Problem Gambling Awareness Week (PGAW), a grassroots public awareness and outreach campaign. This event will take place during the week of March 7-13, 2010 and focuses on the devastating impact compulsive gambling can have on fami-lies.
The goal of this campaign is to educate the general public and health care professionals about the warning signs of problem gambling and raise awareness about the help that is available for families of problem gamblers.
Thousands of Florida residents are affected by problem gambling and often time’s family members suffer more than the gambler themselves. Neglect and abuse often occur and impact the family not only financially but physically and emotionally as well.
Fortunately, resources are available and families of problem gamblers can get help for themselves even if the gambler is not ready to do so. The ongoing mission of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (FCCG) is to promote awareness of problem gambling, the availability of support services to help minimize negative effects, and to provide a message of hope and help to those in need.
Please join us in raising awareness about problem gambling and its effects on the family by participating in PGAW in any of these ways: Posting information or a banner on your website that alerts visitors to PGAW and allows them to link to the FCCG website should addi-tional information be of interest. Allowing the FCCG to submit an article for your organization’s newsletter or other publication that is geared toward the population you serve.
Distributing FCCG materials (e.g. pamphlets, newsletters, posters all provided free of charge) at exhibits or forums.
Providing information on a kiosk or table in your welcome or reception area.
If assessments are conducted by your organization for the purpose of providing consumer services, integrating a brief screening tool for gambling (3 questions) during PGAW. Such use will enable your organization to preliminarily determine the presence of a gambling problem.
For more information and to request materials, contact the FCCG at fccg@gamblinghelp.org or call 1-888-ADMIT-IT (236-4848).
-March 2010-
Problem Gambling Awareness Week
March 7-13, 2010
Become a Partner Now

Can you be a gambling addict and be a full time, long term winning pro gambler? I have had this discussion with a lot of people recently. What are people's view on it?

Hi WarnerLop, great question! It is possible for someone who calls him or herself a "professional gambler" to in fact be suffering from a gambling addiction. Gambling is the act of wagering money on something for which no one knows the outcome -- and this includes someone who calls themselves a "professional gambler." A record of winning is not indicative of skill, and one must know the odds when choosing to gamble. A self-proclaimed professional may be under the illusion of control. This can lead to other signs of problem gambling, which include chasing losses.

In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) reclassified problem gambling as an addiction in the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Research shows that those who meet the criteria for Gambling Disorder experience the same neurological process that affects those suffering from substance addiction. Instead of being addicted to a substance, such as alcohol or cocaine, they’re addicted to a behavior. Just like substance addicts require more and more to get high, problem gamblers make more and more risky bets to get the same good feeling and can also experience withdrawal. But unlike other addictions, those who suffer from problem gambling show no physical signs. That’s why gambling addiction is known as the "Hidden Addiction."

Although most people who gamble are able to do so safely and without difficulty, it is estimated that one to three percent (1-3%) of Floridians suffer from Gambling Disorder with an additional four to five percent (4-5%) considered at-risk. If you think you or someone you know may be suffering from a gambling addiction, call Florida's free, confidential, and multilingual Problem Gambling HelpLine at 888-ADMIT-IT (236-4848), available 24/7/365.

You can also learn more about problem gambling on (https://gamblinghelp.org) and our blog (https://blog.gamblinghelp.org). We invite you to join us in raising awareness about the Hidden Addiction during Problem Gambling Awareness Month in March!

- The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, Inc.