Compulsive Gamblers Offered Help on Gambling Sites?

There is a lot of information offered online about treatment to stop gambling, advice for gamblers that want to quit, gamblers anonymous, stop gambling forums, etc. Ironically, you will find many articles that offer advice to people who want to quit gambling on actual gambling and betting websites.

Unfortunately, this is nothing more than a cynical use of Internet marketing techniques to attract relevant traffic to gambling sites. The casinos know that if someone is addicted to gambling and he lands on their website, he is more likely to gamble on their site than other visitors. Further, when someone is looking for a solution to their gambling problem, they are weak and vulnerable. They are seeking help because they are desperate, but at the same time, all it might take for them to start gambling at that moment is a trigger – like landing on a site where they can gamble.

Don’t be fooled. It’s not that the gambling sites are interested in helping problem gamblers that end up there. It’s precisely the opposite – they are looking to attract people at their most vulnerable moment. Here is how it works:

1. Internet gambling website owners understand how the Internet works. They also understand how the Internet is an irresistible temptation for problem gamblers. And once they get a problem gambler on their site, they know there is a good chance he will stay and play (and lose).

2. The Internet is probably the first place the average problem gambler seeks help for his problem. They conduct searches for “gamblers anonymous”, “treatment for problem gambling”, “help for gambling problem”, etc. Some may even be looking specifically to block gambling sites. Even gambling filters are offered on many betting sites. The very websites that created the problem — casinos, poker games, blackjack, bingo and numerous other forms of betting online — want to be there to welcome problem gamblers. So they supply the content that a compulsive gambler is searching for.

3. These sites don’t actually create advice and tips for problem gamblers. They scrape articles from databases and add deliver content created by others. It is sophisticated and it is unethical. But it is not illegal. Countless gamblers, who have made a decision to work towards recovery, are surprised to find themselves on yet another gambling site facing temptation.

This is one reason a gambling filter installed on your computer, to block gambling sites, can be so helpful. One of the problems gamblers face is the simple temptation. Seeing a computer can be a trigger. But if access to gambling websites is blocked, it is is possible to protect the addict from this 24/7 temptation. And certainly, they should be protected from landing on gambling sites when they are innocently seeking help!