Mothers who are addicted to bingo and other forms of gambling are now to be given free childcare whilst they conquer their demons. It has been revealed that the National problem gambling clinic, the only NHS facility of it’s kind, will be offering free childcare to its patients. The clinic, which is based in Soho in London, is thought to have announced the move to make it easier for women to seek treatment.
It is estimated there are between 250,000 to as many as 600,000 problem gamers in the UK, and women look set to be a group that will keep on rising, with the number of women with gambling habits having doubled in recent years. It is now thought that around 1 in 4 gambling addicts will be a woman, with many blaming the online gaming industry and indeed online bingo for the surge in female cases of gambling addiction.
According to some experts, the online versions of harder gaming forms like casinos are far more attractive for a female, perhaps demonstrated by the recent news some women are deserting the online bingo hall for the roulette wheel.
Dr Bowden-Jones, head of the clinic, said that some women can play up to 10hrs per day online. “Women are playing online when their partners are at work then shut down the web when their husbands come home. It’s made easy for you as long as you have a credit card. There are sites which are targeting women. But the children are placed in front of the TV so the children are not getting the emotional nurturing. By offering childcare, women can get treatment and know their children will be looked after and don’t have to tell anyone where they are going.”
She said: “Women problem gamblers have different emotional issues from men. Often they’re depressed and gambling is a way of numbing the pain. They gain a short-time high.”
With around 2,000 online gambling websites, and many more due to open as the online gaming and online bingo industry still swells in the face of the recession, women are a prime target due to their income decision making power.
But some brands were keen to stress that they were not in business to manipulate players into picking up a gambling habit alongside a full house. Simon Collins, director of Cashcade, says it has an 80% of female audience across it’s brands. Collin said that the company, which owns hugely popular online bingo sites like Foxy Bingo, Cheeky Bingo and Think Bingo as well as a new Casino style venture, Foxy Flutter, has always been focused on preventing addiction. Mr Collins said: “We have daily, weekly and monthly limits to prohibit huge spend”, echoing the self assessment tools that are available at other popular online bingo sites like Wink Bingo.
Online sites are required to comply with industry bodies like GamCare and good sites will provide players with safeguards that will help a player confront a spiraling problem.
