Viva Consulting offers Education and Awareness Presentations
and On-Site Training for Professionals and Corporations
The "We Don't Need This Seminar" Seminar
Problem Gambling: The Social Problem of the New Millenium
You Are Taking A Risk
Are you aware that even your most trusted employees may be stealing from you? They may not be taking cash or merchandise, but they may be robbing you by being preoccupied and less productive, arriving late, leaving early, showing increased absenteeism, or by other activities you have not yet noticed, activities that directly or indirectly are costing you and your business money. These may be the initial warning signs that you have a problem gambler in your workforce. [top]
The Odds Are Against You
Pathological gambling affects approximately five percent of the adult population. Even more alarmingly, each problem gambler creates a ripple effect, having an impact on the lives of at least an additional eight to eighteen people. This includes people in your workplace.[top]
It Is Everyone's Problem
There is evidence that in any city where there is casino there is also an increase in crime: petty thefts, embezzlement, robberies, arson, and fraud. There is also a rise in other social problems: the number of bankruptcies, physical assaults, conjugal violence, neglected children, missing persons, and suicides. Many of these ills can be directly attributed to the steadily growing population of problem gamblers.
However, the casinos are not the greatest problem. Even more than casino gambling, what is contributing to the alarming increase in the number of pathological gamblers is the ready availability of video lottery terminals (VLTs). In fact, chances are that your employees have access to a VLT close enough to the office that they can easily play even on their lunch hours.[top]
When It Is No Longer A Game
Experts agree that VLTs are the most addictive form of gambling and that they are turning responsible citizens into addicts in record time. There have been documented cases of people who have never had a problem with gambling until they began to play the local VLTs. They then used up all of their available assets, overextended their total credit limits, borrowed all they could from family and friends, and eventually "borrowed" from their company or actually turned to theft to try to recoup their losses.
More and more of these employees, aware of their problem but in despair at their inability to control their compulsion to gamble, have tragically ended their lives in suicide. Few people realize that problem gambling has the highest attempted suicide rate of all addictive behaviors. [top]
Your Employees' Best Kept Secret
Although gambling addiction shares some similarities with alcohol and drug addictions, there are also many differences. There are few visible signs of someone experiencing gambling problems. The invisibility of the addiction, the shame and guilt associated with problem gambling behaviours, and the present lack of public awareness of gambling addiction all compound the difficulty. Often the problem is identified and treated only after a stage of desperation has been reached. By then the effects may be devastating!
Nonetheless, there are early warning signs of a gambling problem. By attending our seminars and learning to recognize these signs, you and your senior management staff can help to prevent an employee from crossing that line. With continued in-service training for all your staff, perhaps your employees can even see those warning signs in their loved ones and in themselves.[top]
Help Is At Hand
Viva Consulting offers seminars and workshops individually tailored to meet the needs of your industry. These can be held in your workplace, during or after regular working hours. The sessions will provide participants with an awareness of:
- the various reasons why people gamble;
- types of gamblers;
- the risks and warning signs of problem gambling;
- the impact of problem gambling on the individual, the family, and society;
- how to approach a person who has a gambling problem;
- where to go for help.
It Makes Good Sense
As the world begins the new millenium, one chilling reality we must all face is that gambling in its many facets is becoming an accepted part of society. Without programs to educate the public and promote awareness of the inherent dangers of gambling, especially VLTs, it is inevitable that the number of problem gamblers will continue to increase. By acknowledging the problem of compulsive gambling as one more factor influencing your business, you will be improving your company and your image NOT at a cost to your bottom line, but to its benefit. [top]
What have you got to lose?
Don't gamble with the future of your employees!
The odds are high that this may be your employees' best kept secret.
Contact us today!!
