BRITAIN’S NUMBER OF PROBLEM PLAYERS INCREASED

10:13 / 24.07.2020 1147 views
BRITAIN’S NUMBER OF PROBLEM PLAYERS INCREASED

During the Covid 19 pandemic the number of people seeking help for gambling problems increased significantly in the UK. This is evidenced by data from the British anti-gambling organization Gordon Moody Association.
According to the charity, an average of 1,000 British residents applied to the organization between April and June. This means that the number of people in need of aid due to their addiction increased thirtyfold from the months before isolation.
The Gordon Moody Association is a non-profit organization that operates several drug treatment facilities. In addition, even after the end of three months of inpatient treatment nursing staff take care of those who are injured. There are over 100 kind of treatments that the organization offers, and all of them are available in multiple languages.
The seriousness of the situation is confirmed by the fact that at the height of the Covid 19 crisis, an average of five people a day called the organization, due to the fact that they had thoughts of suicide due to gambling problem.
Is there a storm coming?
Anti-gambling officials said that the most of the calls came from people who had previously only considered visiting one of the treatment centers. In addition, many former patients come who fear a relapse of their gambling addiction.
In a statement, Matthew Hickey, chairman of the Gordon Moody Association, fears that the Covid 19 crisis could provoke an increasing number of patients to return to their old hobbies.
“We felt that we could face big problems due to the coronavirus crisis, and now we believe that the figures presented indicate the beginning. The number of young men and women who are asking questions about treatment options or seeking advice on how to deal with gambling is growing more than ever. During the transition to the second quarter of 2020, you can definitely observe the trend of the requests increasing! ”
Matthew hopes that raising public awareness can help eliminate the social “stigma” of gambling addiction. Victims generally shy away from offers of help, although they urgently need it.