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Senior Citizens and Gambling Gambling on line, at church and in casinos is a hidden addiction of seniors in this country. The next decade will see the largest number of senior citizens addicted to gambling than ever before. As baby boomers age they find themselves in need of additional financial resources, social contacts and ways to avoid isolation. Remember when your parents called and asked how you were and you said "fine". Don't be surprised if they have turned the tables on you. Gambling is not always an obvious addiction. Until a crisis erupts many people do not suspect that a love one is a pathological gambler. Casinos offer seniors free transportation, food, discounts, socialization and acceptance. People in wheelchairs and using walkers receive special assistance and attention. Researchers at Pennsylvania State College of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania surveyed 843 elderly people 65 years and older and discovered that 70 percent had been involved in at least one gambling activity in the past year and 11 percent fit the criteria of at-risk gamblers: they had recently laid down more than $100 on a single bet and/or they had bet more than they could afford to lose. "Results from this study raise significant public
health concerns that gambling and at-risk gambling are prevalent in older
men and women," the authors state. "Although many older adults view
gambling as harmless entertainment and participate in some form of
gambling without significant problems, a significant minority suffers
disastrous consequences." Many seniors forgo medication, visits to health care providers, paying utilities, adequate nutrition, holiday and birthday cards and gifts to family, etc. in the hope of that "the last bet" will solve all their financial problems and those of their children and grandchildren. There comes a point in life where children and parents reverse roles. The children out of respect for parents or fear and lack of information don't ask questions when parents say they are experiencing financial difficulties or concerns. When they find out grandma or grandpa have just been arrested for shop lifting hot dogs they are shocked. What they learn is all of the social security check went towards gambling. Health care providers in general and many mental health counselors do not ask their clients if they gamble, how often or how much. Many people do not recognize gambling as a psychiatric disorder. And, those that do, don't know how to address it. Seniors thought to be at special risk include those who have sustained recent or cumulative losses of significant others, who have undergone a loss of status, who have undiagnosed depression, and those who have always gambled. But for the majority of seniors who develop problems, there aren't clear warning signs that trouble is looming. "They have lived an exemplary life, worked hard, taken care of their family, educated their children, and did all the right things only to find themselves after retirement involved in an activity they can't control," says Pat Fowler, executive director of the Florida Counsel on Compulsive Gambling. "Many are looking for an escape from all sorts of losses in their lives, whether loss of a spouse, a profession (after retirement), their health, their physical abilities, their physical beauty. Gambling is one activity they can engage in regardless of physical problems. There aren't many other activities that are stimulating and exciting that they can do; gambling is one of the few left," she says. There are two types of senior gamblers, says Fresh Meadows, N.Y.-based social worker Mary-Ellen Siegel, MSW, co-author of Behind the Eight Ball: A Recovery Guide for Families with Gamblers. THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE SUBJECT OF PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING Siegel, along with Westchester County-based social worker Linda Berman , offers these tip-offs that a senior adult is gambling too much:
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