1. Salvation Army Problem Gambling Games
2. Salvation Army Problem Gambling Addiction
3. Salvation Army Problem Gambling Winnings
4. Salvation Army Problem Gambling Rules

New Zealanders lose $2.4 billion dollars every year to pokie machines, casinos, TABs and Lotto products. This does not include overseas online gambling.

Once you know the odds of winning, you will be able to accurately put your chances of winning into perspective. In most conventional games there is a winner and a loser. Also, when you play a game of chance among friends the odds of winning are more even.

1. The Salvation Army is opposed to gambling. The nature of gambling lends itself to exploitative, deceptive and manipulative practices. It is contrary to Christian principles of love, freedom from oppressive and concern for others.
2. The Salvation Army has announced this year's Human Needs Index. And sadly there's a terrible logical problem at the heart of what they're doing here. Not what the Salvation Army is doing of course.
3. A lawsuit against the Salvation Army will decide whether gambling addiction should count legally as a disability. Salvation Army case to decide if gambling addiction is a disability.

But when you gamble through a business such as in a casino or on pokie machines, the odds are almost never in your favour to win.

The game is almost always rigged so that the house wins. The primary goal of gambling operators is to make as much money as possible from people.

The Salvation Army's gambling addiction support service is worried about the increased number of online gambling sites. The head of the organisation's gambling services division, Oasis, said it had. The Salvation Army is backing Labour's demand that greater restrictive powers be granted to local authorities to deal with the problem of gambling addiction. Labour has promised to change laws that limit the power of councils to reduce the number of bookmakers on their high streets if they win the next election, with Miliband saying FOBTs are.

The odds of a 5 line jackpot win on a pokie machine: 1 in 9.7 million

A good tip to remember: You have a much higher chance of being struck by lightning than winning the jackpot on the pokies.

Is it possible to improve the odds?

It might seem as though playing on the same machine will boost the likelihood of that machine giving you some money. But this isn’t the case.

These factors do not improve odds of winning:

• Time of day.
• How often you have won or lost in recent times.
• How many other people have played on a particular machine.
• How long you play on one machine.
• Other people losing on a particular machine.

No external factors influence the likelihood of having a win on the pokies. It is controlled by an algorithm within the machine that almost always lets the house win.

Roulette and other games of chance

Each spin is a completely separate event. No matter what occurred on previous rolls or spins the outcome of the next roll or spin is totally independent of this.

There is no way to improve the odds of winning on roulette or any other game of chance.

Salvation Army Problem Gambling Games

'Skill-based' games

Sports betting or card playing may be affected by skill level in the short term.

However, many random events can influence these games. This includes changes to the game’s parameters and margins, as well as a gambler’s emotional state at the time of playing.

For horse-racing – there are other factors that influence the chances of winning, including the horse’s form, other horses’ form, the jockey having a big night the night before the race, weather, track conditions, and so on. It is not possible to control the odds of winning or predict with any accuracy the likelihood of a win in such a complex game.

Wishful thinking and gambling

It’s important to remember that superstition, wishful thinking and gambling are a bad combination.

Many people have warped and false thinking around gambling. In the moment of playing games, they overestimate their odds of winning and forget that they are far more likely to lose.

Do an experiment

If you have doubts about the way odds work, try this experiment to test the theory.

• Before each bet, make a note about what you think will happen.
• Write down what actually happened.
• Do this at least 10 times to test if your predictions were accurate.
• Look back on these results from your notes. This will give you a realistic perspective on your chances of winning versus losing while gambling.

The chances of developing a problem

The more often a person gambles, the greater the risk of them becoming an unsafe gambler.

The chances of developing a problem with regular gambling are vastly higher than your chances of having a big win.

Face-to-face support and advice from Oasis is proven to be effective in minimising the harm of gambling for individuals concerned about their gambling, along with other people in their lives.

Oasis can help:

• If gambling is affecting your relationships, work or study.
• If you’re in debt as a result of gambling.
• If your gambling is making you feel depressed, anxious or worried.
• If you want to know more about the harm that gambling causes.
• If you’re spending a lot of time gambling.
• If you’d like help with quitting or reducing your gambling.
• If you are worried about someone you know who is gambling.

A gambling problem can be difficult to admit. Some people who have a problem with gambling often lie about their gambling or betting habits, or they will attempt to conceal their gambling from others.

Support and advice from Oasis is effective in helping people experiencing gambling harm. Give us a call today on 0800 53 00 00.

A man who lost his home, partner and friends, due to an addiction to gambling machines has told of how he was helped on the road to recovery by The Salvation Army.

Andy, 37, lost his home, friends and partner, due to his addiction to gambling machines. He was unable to get a job due to his addiction after he was made redundant two years ago. He first played on a fruit machine at the age of 17 when he won £200. He said: “One big win led me to spend thousands of pounds on gambling machines. I think over the last 20 years I have lost about £30,000 to £35,000 on the machines. I would put £10 in, then it went up to £20, and then £50. When I lost my job due to redundancy as an agency worker two years ago I lied about working night shifts.

“I lied to my partner, to my friends, and I would gamble any money I had in the hope I could make it right again.

“I started lying about every aspect of my life.

“I couldn’t get myself into the frame of mind to be able to get a job.

“I was just focused on chasing my losses in the hope of a big win.”

In March last year things came to a head for Andy, after his relationship with his partner broke down due to her constantly needing to bail him out. He ended up homeless, and decided to end his life by stopping to take the insulin he needed, to treat his type one diabetes.

He said: “My lowest point was when I split up with my partner and the only thing I could control was my insulin.

“I stopped taking it and the doctor said within five or six hours I would have been dead.”

This attempt to take his life saw him end up at the Royal Victoria Infirmary Hospital and he eventually found himself at The Salvation Army’s City Road Lifehouse in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The Salvation Army helped Andy get on to a 24-session NECA course (a charity working with people with addictions). It was recommended that he get himself banned from the betting shops as a self-exclusion measure, as well as changing walking routes to avoid areas with betting shops.

He said: “Self-exclusion works if you’re further down the line and are committed to changing.

Salvation Army Problem Gambling Addiction

“You have to take your photo into the bookies and ask them to ban you.

“But it wouldn’t have helped me until I got to that point of wanting to recover because I wouldn’t have wanted anything to stop the possibility of my being able to access the machines. “There are dozens and dozens of bookies in Newcastle alone, and they all have four machines in. All the time I was in the bookies you see people breaking down, shouting at the machines.”

Andy has now moved out of the Lifehouse and into a Salvation Army flat although he still has support from the Lifehouse. He is now looking to move into independent living accommodation.

Andy is back with his partner but accepts he can’t change the past - he won’t be able to win back the money he’s lost.

Salvation Army Problem Gambling Winnings

Ian Monteith, Andy’s support worker, at The Salvation Army’s City Road Lifehouse, said: “When I first met Andy he was depressed and de-motivated following a relationship breakdown, homelessness through losing his tenancy, and recovering from a near fatal neglect of his physical health regarding his type 1 diabetes.

“Andy’s gambling habits cost him everything that was familiar to him, as he would lie to his friends and family about where his money was going, and of course his whereabouts. “After a short time Andy and his partner were in a crisis situation, and with no rent being paid, they were both made homeless and everything about what Andy was struggling with came to light. Andy lost his home, partner, friends, family and almost his life in the space of a week.

“Over the months myself and Andy worked closely together incorporating support mechanisms such as Gamblers Anonymous and NECA to help him with his recovery and rehabilitation. Andy learned over time to accept his past, build his future and accept that this is an issue he is going to need ongoing support with for the rest of his life, though at a reduced level.

“Today, Andy is working hard to rebuild the relationships with his friends and family, and also to rebuild the trust that was decimated between him and his partner.

Andy is keen to help people who are fighting with the same hardship as he was, and to raise a little awareness that a gambling addiction is as much an addiction as substance misuse, and that it ruins not only the life of the person with the addiction but all of the people who are connected to them.”

****************************************************** The Salvation Army has been calling for changes to the way gambling machines are regulated and believes the government already possesses sufficient evidence to take action.

Salvation Army Problem Gambling Rules

The Army also believes that local authorities lack adequate powers to say no to betting shops and in order to address the rising costs associated with problem gambling, protect vulnerable individuals, and foster thriving high streets and communities, The Salvation Army is recommending the following:

- Reduce the stakes and prizes of FOBT machines - More research of FOBT machines, their density, location and social impact - Effective self-exclusion measures across the whole industry so those who recognise they have a problem don’t simply go to the next betting shop chain - Introduce breaks in play or other measures to remind customers of their spend. Increase powers to local authorities (1) to create a separate planning category (2) to have the power of veto.