Politics
As a gambling counsellor …
Angela James
As a gambling counsellor I worked not just with problem gamblers but also with their significant others. They all wanted the gambling to stop – they could see where they were headed – loss of family, incarceration, poverty for all, a kind of self induced death of all they held dear. The gamblers could not stop. One man said to me that he could give up cigarettes, alcohol but not the pokies. People addicted to poker machines are the worst hit and the problem gambling groups comprised 95% poker machine addicts. Pokies are the worst because they have been devised to mesmerise. Those gamblers hear the sound of their favourite machine urging them ever on to chase their losses. One researcher wanted to change that seductive sound to the word “loser” at each press of the suicidal button. Legislate that and see how it changes the joy of poky suicide. Read more, Comment here