Responsible Gambling Ireland | National service
Gambling in Ireland has now become a more socially acceptable leisure activity with gambling facilities available online, in betting shops, at race tracks, in card clubs or gaming arcades or on Lotteries. For the majority of gamblers it remains an occasional social activity, but for a small percentage of the gambling population, they may find that it can escalate out of control.
Responsible Gambling Ireland;
While the vast majority of people who gamble do so for entertainment or fun, for people who have addictive personalities it can become a serious problem. Some tips for ensuring your gambling remains fun include;
- Only gamble with what you can afford.
- Set limits and stick to them.
- Avoid chasing losses.
- Never allow gambling to interfere with your personal relationships.
- Don’t use gambling as a means of escape.
Responsible Gambling has been increasingly fundamental to the industry’s approach to customers and business. A number of safeguarding measures have been introduced and we continue to improve those measures in-line with International best practices. These measures include;
- Staff training and awareness to identify persons that may be affected by problem gambling.
- Prominent display and availability of relevant material relating to identifying problem gambling and the services and support that is available
- Reality checks, allow customers to set a session duration reminder. This reminder can help them to manage how long they are in a gaming session.
- Deposit limits, with the option to set personal daily, weekly or monthly deposit limits.
- Self-exclusion facilities, which will prevent customer from accessing gambling services in that premises.
Problem gambling service
If gambling is affecting you or a loved one, there are many support and problem gambling services available. These include phone counselling, face-to-face counselling sessions, out-reach programme’s and residential facilities.
One such service is provided by The Dunlewey Addiction centre. Dunlewey was founded in 1987 and has been providing specialist services to those experiencing addiction issues ever since. They have a Freephone number dedicated to problem gambling services which is operational 7 days a week and gives immediate access to a qualified counsellor. They also have counsellors in almost every county in Ireland who can provide face-to-face counselling sessions at their premises if further treatment is needed. This service is fully funded by the Irish betting shop industry and is in operation for over 8 years now.If you or someone you know would like to talk about their gambling, Dunlewey can be contacted at Freephone 1800 736 725 (Irl ), 08000 886 725 (NI ) or at www.Dunlewey.net
The Dunlewey centre also organises training days for the betting industry and its staff. This offers responsible operators the opportunity to train their staff in identifying and engaging with any persons that may have a difficulty in this area, and offering the information and advice from the DSAC.
Problem Gambling information in Ireland
For Information about how to get help, or to explore the signs of problem gambling please download one of our brochures. This information is available in your local betting shop:
Guide for Family and Friends : Supporting a problem Gambler
Gambling Awareness Trust
The Irish Bookmakers Association and its members, fully support a new Independent Charity that has been setup to fund education, awareness, research and treatment of problem gambling in Ireland: GamblingAwarenessTrust
Gambling Awareness Trust administers and funds the online resource GamblingCare.ie. This website offers support and information to those who are concerned about their own or another person’s gambling. By raising awareness of gambling-related harm they hope to help people make informed decisions about their gambling, understand and recognise problem gambling and know where to seek help.