Dundee has seen a huge surge in the number of people seeking help for problem gambling.
Trained counsellors at the Tayside Council for Alcohol (TCA) said they had seen a 35% increase in referrals following an awareness event.
The service is now expanding its support to offer a new weekly peer-to-peer group for people to talk to others experiencing similar issues.
The awareness week came after an investigation by The Courier into problem gambling.
Madge Thornton, senior counsellor at the centre, said the growing needs of more clients led to the service expanding.
She said: “After gambling awareness week we had a huge upsurge in referrals.
“The upsurge has been mostly self-referrals as folk in Dundee become more aware that we offer that service.
“Now we have decided there is a need for peer-to-peer support as well.”
The TCA in the past has always offered gambling counselling through Gamcare, but this is the first time it has offered group support.
Madge said: “It can be beneficial to hear other stories and find out how other people are coping in a group situation.
“Peer support can be a good follow up to counselling for people who have reached the stage where they have established healthy coping mechanisms.
“The group can also be good support for other people who feel they don’t want to come to counselling.”
The service sees people who have fallen on hard times because of a gambling addiction, often losing homes, families and friends.
Madge said the problem affects men and women of all ages and can sometimes be as a result of bereavement.
She said: “In my experience gambling addiction can often be in response to a bereavement or divorce.
“Because gambling is a massive distraction people can forget about their other issues.
“We’ve seen people who have lost a lot of money or their job.
“We have been seeing a lot of younger people, who are often involved in online gambling, as well as people who go to the bookies.
“The difference with online gambling is that it is 24/7 and sometimes it doesn’t feel like people are losing real money.
“When things escalate and people get into debt it can become a serious problem.”
The peer-to-peer support group, on Tuesday evenings from 6pm to 7pm, is open to anyone and is held at 50 Constable Street.
Peer-to-peer support is only available in Dundee, but counselling is also available at the centre’s Arbroath office in Catherine Street.
For more information phone 01382 456012 or 01241 872989.When the fun stops, stopThe habit of problem gambling which impacts on families andrelationships as well as finances can be incredibly hard to break, writes Jenny Thomson.
Gambling affects both young and old and, with the rise of onlinegambling and games machines in pubs, there are more ways for people to get into trouble.
Bookmakers have awareness campaigns and messages to help, including the “When the Fun Stops, Stop” motto.
They have also tried to helpcustomers set limits, yet gambling addiction can still cause realproblems for some people.
Many preventative measures, such as self-exclusion, rely on the individual accepting they have a problem.
One of the hardest things I found during my investigation last year was chatting to 26-year-old Gary, who spent years trying to claw his way back from £6,000 of debt accumulated online and ‘chasing money’ on slot machines.
Trying to win back losses,borrowing money to gamble and feeling the need to be secretive about your gambling are signs that gambling has got the better of you.
If you think you may have aproblem however, the good news is that there are people you can talk to who will understand.
Gambling Anonymous groups are available around the country and helpline GamCare, on 0808 8020 133, can help point people in the direction of local services.
In Courier Country, the TCA have specialist gambling counsellors and now a new peer-to-peer group to help take some of the burden away.
But admitting you have a problem is the all important first step out of crisis.