RESOURCES FOR GAMBLERS

If you have started on your road to recovery, congratulations. It takes courage, conviction, lots of support and grace for an individual to choose recovery. It’s not an easy path, but one that when achieved has many rewards.

We wish you the best in your journey and hope you are taking advantage of the resources available to Minnesotans for free treatment, attending a peer recovery meeting or using ways to keep yourself from gambling, such as Gamban, an online gambling blocking app.

Get the Support You Need.
Confidential Financial Counseling.

We understand that problem gambling can strain finances. That’s why we’ve partnered with Lutheran Social Services counselors to provide a valuable, no-cost resource for those experiencing financial issues from gambling, whether you are the gambler or a family member: Financial Choice services through LSS Financial Counseling.

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Northern Light, the MNAPG award-winning quarterly newsletter.
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How Does your gambling compare with others?

Perhaps you’re wondering if you are gambling more than most. By taking this quiz you’ll be able to gage your gambling compared to other Minnesotans.

Gambler Healing – If you’re wondering if gambling may be consuming too much of your life and you’re not quite ready to reach out to a counselor, Gambler Healing may be a good place to start. These 8 sessions depict real gamblers in recovery with their counselor. By visiting this website, you’ll have access to all the video sessions and accompanying materials to get you started. If at any point you want to speak to a counselor, the list of providers is below. Treatment is at no cost and telehealth sessions are available.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS

Gambler’s Anonymous (GA) www.minnesotaga.com,  1-855-222-5542 (1-855-2CALLGA)

You can also visit this web site for a list of worldwide GA meetings.

GAM-ANON The toll-free helpline is 1-888-435-7166 (1-888-HELP1MN). www.gam-anon.org

Smart Recovery 440-951-5357 smartrecovery.org

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Take Our Quiz

How does your gambling compare with other Minnesotans?

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3 Questions

to ask if you think your gambling is starting to be a problem.

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Read

Northern Light, the MNAPG award-winning quarterly newsletter.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS TO ASSIST IN RECOVERY

Working your recovery program is hard and if you stick with it, will transform your life. In times when you may feel tempted to gamble online or visit a casino or card room, there are a few tools that some have found helpful. None are foolproof, but these tools may be helpful.

Voluntary self-exclusion from land-based casinos and cardrooms

In Minnesota, anyone interested in self-exclusion for a fixed time (6 months, one year, three years or a lifetime) from either a casino or card room may do so by signing a voluntary agreement with each separate facility. By signing this contract, you are agreeing not to enter the premises for a specified time and the casino/card room will cease to provide promotional materials to your mailing address. If you should break the agreement during the specified time, the operator has the right to charge you with trespassing and/or if you should win a jackpot of $1,200 or more, you will not receive it.

TRUE LINK

TrueLink is a debit card that allows you or a family member to control exactly how much money can be spent, and on exactly what items or activities it can be spent.

RESOURCES TO START THE CONVERSATION IF YOU SUSPECT A GAMBLING ISSUE

We are not raised to talk about money. We receive little training in school about managing finances or managing risk with the money we have. It’s important for individuals and families to discuss what they want their money to do for them and to set goals to obtain those wants. Setting goals helps develop some discipline to stick to a plan so that ultimately we can live the life we want to live. Below are some resources to help start those conversations.

How to Talk About Money, The Money Advice Service, United Kingdom publication. pdf 

Personal Financial Strategies of The Loved Ones of Problem Gamblers, NCPG, 2000 pdf 

Reduce time and money spent on online gambling with voluntary, self-exclusion apps that block online sites.

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Two voluntary, self-exclusion tools for online gambling sites.

Given that many gamblers may be moving online, MNAPG is offering individual subscriptions for an online self-exclusion tool called Gamban. This tool enables the gambler to block tens of thousands of online gambling sites on all devices. MNAPG has purchased one-year subscriptions that can block up to 15 devices in one household.

If you are interested, please email sstucker@mnapg.org and a link will be provided to set up the account.

BetBlocker helps you, or those you care about, ensure that they can manage their access to gambling in a safe and appropriate manner. Whether that means restricting altogether, or limiting during periods of vulnerability, BetBlocker can help. Visit https://www.betblocker.org to download this free app.