ProblemGamblingRelease 101

							Board Officers
Amber Bunch          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Executive Director
                     March 7, 2010
David Diffeé         Contact: Amber Bunch
President            Executive Director
Addictions           Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado
Psychologist         (303) 662-0772
                     or
Lois Rice            Lois Rice
Vice President       Executive Director
Colorado Gaming      Colorado Gaming Association
Association          (303) 237-5480

Justin Volk          Recovering Gambler Shares Struggle Against Addiction
Treasurer
Ameristar Casino     DENVER – It started innocently enough. Dates at the dog tracks. Vacations in
                     Vegas. A sports bet here and there. Then Mitch began missing work. He got a
At-Large             bookie and began taking out loans and opening credit cards to pay for his habit.
Board Members        Before long, he was gambling five or six hours a day.

Matt Robbins         “I was out of control. I was betting on Ivy League basketball games, the WBNA
Colorado Lottery     –anything to get a fix,” said Mitch (who asked that his last name not be used). “I
                     went through four really good relationships because all I cared about was
Brenda Davis         gambling. I was fortunate not to lose my job.”
Colorado Division
of Gaming            After battling his addiction for 15 years, Mitch finally decided to seek help. He
                     began attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings more than year ago and now
Frank Lisnow         runs his own meetings twice a week. And Mitch isn’t alone. According to the
Center for           National Council on Problem Gambling, as many as nine million Americans
Dependency,          struggle with problem gambling. The Council, in partnership with the
Addiction and        Association of Problem Gambling Service Administrators, shines the light on the
Rehabilitation       issue during National Problem Gambling Awareness Week, March 7-13th.

                     “It’s one of those addictions that can often go unnoticed,” said Amber Bunch,
                     executive director of the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado. “But if
                     family members and friends had a better idea of what to look for, problem
                     gamblers might be prompted to get help sooner.”

                     The resources available to problem gamblers and their families in Colorado
                     include the University of Denver’s Problem Gambling Treatment and Research

                                                        -continued-
Center and the Center for Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation at the
Anschutz Centers for Advanced Medicine (CeDAR). A list of private practice
treatment professionals and other resources can be found at
http://www.problemgamblingcolorado.org/treatment/index.cfm.

Gamblers Anonymous also holds 17 meetings weekly statewide. Mitch attends
three meetings a week and says that the participants range from doctors and
lawyers to housewives who gambled as a means of escape.

“It affects all demographics,” said Mitch.

The organization has slightly expanded the number of meetings it offers in
recent years and attendance at its meetings has grown. Mitch says the majority
of problem gamblers at the meetings he runs, tend to be addicted to casino
games, but there are also individuals who are addicted to sports betting, bingo,
lottery tickets, even day trading.

Mitch said he indulged in all forms of gambling. At one point, he was so in debt,
his entire paycheck went to paying off the payday loans he’d taken to fund his
addiction. He is now out of debt and dedicated to steering clear of temptation.

“Gamblers Anonymous was my saving grace, without a doubt,” said Mitch. “It’s
like medicine.”

For more information on Gamblers Anonymous meetings, visit
www.coloradoga.org or call 1-800-424-3577.


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