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Dave Wohl has some big shoes to fill. As ICPG’s new Executive Director, Dave talks about taking over from ICPG’s founder, Bill Johnson, and how they are teaming up with other organizations across the state to spread the word on gambling disorder, and its effects on many underserved communities.

 

wagerdanger@gatewayfoundation.org 

Gateway Foundation Gambling Treatment

Illinois Council on Problem Gambling

info@illinoisproblemgambling.org 

dwohl@illinoisproblemgambling.org

Call Gateway Foundation: 855-723-0963

Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

Are you Really Winning?

Emily Bernard is an addictions counselor at Hour House.  Recognizing that recovery and change happens “one hour at a time”, Hour House offers treatment services to address substance use & gambling disorders, co-occurring dependency & other therapy needs.

Emily shares her passion for her work and why a focus on the individual is important to affect lasting change for their clients.  

More about Hour House is available at: https://hourhouserecovery.org

TASC serves those in need of substance use disorders, co-occurring mental health conditions, gambling disorders or family health and reunification challenges.  

Tanya Bibbs-Smith talks about her outreach efforts across IL to reach youth and adolescents that are exposed to gaming and gambling at an early age. She’s helping this demographic understand the connection between their actions and how it has the potential to lead towards a gambling disorder.  

More about TASC can be found at: https://tasc.org

Located in Central Illinois, Heritage provides comprehensive community-based services to treat the most serious behavioral disorders.

Teagan Shull joins the show to discuss how Heritage places an emphasis on screening for Gambling Disorder and how Heritage responds to the increase in identifying and serving gambling disorders within the communities they serve.

More can be found at: https://heritagenet.org/gambling

Gambling disorder service providers sit down with Wager Danger to discuss their approach to community outreach and treatment for problem gambling. We explore topics that include: 

• The intense shame that sometimes prevents men from seeking assistance with problem gambling, and the resulting observation that women are more likely to complete the program. 
• How young people are at increased risk to gambling disorder. 
• How telehealth breaks down the barriers to treatment and screening tools that help facilitate the access to treatment options.

 

Engage with Wager Danger:

email: wagerdanger@gatewayfoundation.org

 

Follow Gateway Foundation:

Facebook & Twitter: @recovergateway

LinkedIn: @gateway-foundation

Website: https://gatewayfoundation.org

 

Seek Assistance:

Gateway Foundation Helpline: 1-844-975-DONE (3663)

National and State of IL Helpline: 1-800-GAMBLER

The state of Illinois recently launched a new advertising campaign aimed at creating awareness for problem gambling.  We sat down with John Harris, President of a5 digital consultancy to better understand the meaning behind the campaign.  While the campaign is designed to create awareness and encourage those with gambling issues to seek assistance, what we ultimately learned is that “Are You Really Winning” is a message of hope.  More information can be found at: www.areyoureallywinning.com or 1-800-GAMBLER or by texting GAMB to 833234.

 

Engage with Wager Danger: 

email: wagerdanger@gatewayfoundation.org

 

Follow Gateway Foundation:

Facebook & Twitter: @recovergateway

LinkedIn: @gateway-foundation

Website: https://gatewayfoundation.org

 

Seek Assistance:

Gateway Foundation Helpline: 1-844-975-DONE (3663)

National and State of IL Helpline: 1-800-GAMBLER

Sandra is a compassionate mental health advocate that brings passion, experience and empathy to her profession.  She has spent several years in the field as a proponent for providing disordered gambling services and eliminating the stigma often associated with problem gambling. 

Engage with Wager Danger.  Please feel free to email us at:

wagerdanger@gatewayfoundation.org

References:

https://gatewayfoundation.org

https://areyoureallywinning.com

Help lines:

Gateway Foundation – Gambling Hotline: 1-844-975-DONE

Nationally – 1-800-GAMBLER

Another out-of-studio episode in which we gather with former guests and new friends to review the first conference in Illinois aimed at understanding the prevalence and impact of problem gambling in the LatinX community.  We were joined by 7 mental health professionals throughout the show to discuss everything from:

-         How the similarity of OCD and gambling disorder affects the brain (03:08)

-         That nearly 1.1 million residents of IL are suffering from disordered gambling or are at high risk to developing a gambling disorder (10:40)

-         What it means to “Feed the Pig” (26:10)

-         Understanding that the propensity to gamble has so much power over the brain that you can literally teach a rat to gamble (28:40)

 

Guests joining the program (in order) include: Dr. Teresa Garate, Jim Wilkerson, Calvin Miller, Elizabeth Thielan, Dr. Celeste Napier, Dr. Mauricio Cifuentes and Bill Johnson.

 

Gateway Foundation’s Gambling Helpline 1-844-375-DONE (3663)

Gateway Foundation website: https://www.gatewayfoundation.org

Illinois Department of Human Services / Substance Use Prevention and Recovery – Are You Really Winning website – https://areyoureallywinning.com

Illinois Helpline for Problem Gambling – 1-800-GAMBLER

*** Trigger warning *** Gambling, the wagering process, “bad beats”, big wins, etc are all discussed in this episode.  Please listen with caution if these topics are potentially triggering. 

Suicide contemplation is also mentioned in this episode.  If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or emotional distress, please dial 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24/7.

 

Joel Soper joins the show to discuss the motivation behind writing a person account of his struggles with gambling.  We learn how Joel first got started betting at an early age, what he hopes to accomplish by sharing his story, the uniqueness of sports betting and why he believes it has mass appeal to a wide audience.  Joel is candid about his recovery journey and realizes it is a “work in progress” that requires vigilance each day.

https://www.gatewayfoundation.org/mental-health/process-addictions/gambling-addiction/

Taking the show to the streets for candid interviews with Cubs and White Sox fans about gambling. Many shared thoughts, opinions and personal accounts. 

 

https://www.gatewayfoundation.org/mental-health/process-addictions/gambling-addiction/

Ask a gambler their winning percentage and you’ll probably get a response that’s not true. Elizabeth Thielen, the Gambling Program Director of NICASA Behavioral Health Services joins the show to discuss how unlikely partnerships (e.g., NFL Foundation, NCAA, FanDuel, National Council on Problem Gambling and Behavioral Health Providers) are banding together to create awareness campaigns to ensure gamblers participate mindfully and are cognizant of potential risks when gambling, and why “having a plan” is a key strategy to gambling responsibly and approaching gambling as a means of entertainment.

We also talk about awareness programs that are targeted at youth populations and explore why college and professional athletes are potentially at higher risk to problem gambling behaviors.

Additional resources for further information discussed in this episode:

• In-play betting as it relates to disordered gambling severity: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.574884/full
• Rate of disordered gambling among sports bettors higher than other gamblers; perception of control in sports bettors, etc.: https://www.ncpgambling.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/sports-gambling_NCPGLitRvw.pdf
• An article about athletes' concerns with how they are treated as a result of sports betting: https://www.si.com/betting/2021/08/09/gambling-issue-the-athletes
• A blog about athletes and problem gambling www.fightproblemgambling.com

Gambling in Illinois continues to grow!  More casinos are being built, video gaming terminals seem to be available on every corner and legalized sports betting is available through mobile devices. What can we do to better equip mental health professionals to recognize and respond to individuals that are experiencing problems related to gambling?  Bill Johnson, the Executive Director of the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling (ICPG) joins the show to discuss how ICPG plays a role in educating counseling professionals across the state AND how the ICPG is uniquely positioned to increase the public’s awareness of problem gambling.

*This episode discusses the link between Gambling Disorder and increased risks of suicide.  If you or someone you know is thinking of suicide or self-harm, immediately call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The road to recovery from problem gambling is a lifelong process.  Clinical Supervisor Melissa “Missy” Coffey discusses problem identifiers, insights and coping strategies for individuals that identify as problem gamblers.