Having  a gambling problem with The Pokies

Jo presented to the service. She appeared very distressed. She said she was very worried and anxious, feeling depressed and did not know where to turn. She disclosed having  a gambling problem with the Pokies. She said she started gambling 9 years ago. She stated she had developed the gambling problem, when she started to feel depressed after her daughter, 6 years old at the time, was hit by a car.

The daughter, Chloe, 15y/o now, has an ABI as a result of the accident.  Jo had assistance from Gambler’s Help (GH) previously and had been self- excluded. She started playing again during the last year, while worrying more about her daughter.

She worried about Chloe falling behind in school (she was at the end of year 9), saying that she hated school, she was truanting; friends had seen Chloe in town while she was supposed to be at school, and she found Chloe was not being honest.

She worried about Chloe’s new boyfriend who she did not approve off, her vulnerability with the technology of internet and mobile phones. She had ‘caught’  Chloe on a dating site making arrangements to meet a man.

With the worrying, their relationship is deteriorating: Jo expressed she felt powerless and inadequate and tended to get stricter and angrier, and Chloe was responding by shouting back and withdrawing.

The home environment has become stressful because of this conflict. Jo finds she is staying more and more in bed and is also finding it hard to control her eating