- Wednesday 8 September 2010
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Numbers double of gamblers seeking help
The number of people seeking treatment for gambling addiction in Wairarapa has doubled over the past two years. Wairarapa Addiction Services gambling co-ordinator Naomi Wickens said at any one time, the service would have anywhere up to 40 active gamblers, she said. Ms Wickens said they were unable to tell whether the increase was because there were more people with gambling problems, or because more people knew about the service. Most referrals were self-referrals. Others came from community services, such as probation, mental health or local GPs, or from within the drug-and-alcohol addiction service programme.
''We feel we are still really struggling to reach the right people. People are just loathe to come forward. It's a sensitive issue.'' Ms Wickens said self-exclusion was working well, particularly with women gamblers.
Self-exclusion is where gamblers choose to be banned from particular venues, usually for two years.
Horse and Hound Cafe and Bar manager Marlene Kawana said it was hard to tell if there had been an increase in problem gamblers in the venue.
She said there were a couple of gamblers that she knew of who should probably be barred from the venue, and who were being monitored at the moment.
Trust House community support manager Craig Thomson said it was difficult to say if there had been an increase in the number of problem gamblers in its venues because it didn't always see them. ''We only really see the numbers of self-exclusions, but not everyone [who is a problem gambler] does this.''
Alister Skene, manager of Prime Community Trust and Pelorus Trust, which also operates gaming machines in Wairarapa, was not available for comment. Department of Internal Affairs figures showed $133,000 went into pokies each week in Wairarapa between July 2009 and June 2010.
