Women become addicted more quickly
There are no statistics on this, at least not yet. Addiction to gambling was supposed to be a male disease. After all, women don’t follow horse racing or play classic card games such as poker and blackjack. They don’t read up on the latest tactics to deke out opponents. At worst, they play bingo and, really, what’s the harm in that?
According to one recent study, Canadians “spent” $14.5 billion last year on gambling. Between 1992 and 2004, according to Statistics Canada, the net revenue from gambling operations run by provincial governments skyrocketed from $2.7 billion to $12.4 billion. Experts say the increase is due to the proliferation of lotteries, casinos and VLTs, which in turn has caused the very demographics of gambling to shift from 80 per cent men and 20 per cent women to a 50-50 split.
Problem gambling among women is keeping pace. Tom Broffman, an assistant professor in the school of social work at Eastern Connecticut State University, notes that most female gamblers do so to escape the daily drudgery of their lives, with many of them caught in that often thankless squeeze generation, caring for aging parents and children.
“Women become addicted to gambling more quickly than men do because of the kind of gambling they favour,” says Broffman, whose doctoral thesis was on how gender differences in mental health and substance abuse could be used as predictors of gambling problems. "Women want a diversion and they play slot machines, VLTs and games on the Internet because they’re easy and solitary. There are no expectations, no rules and no harassment. They don’t need to make small talk, or any talk at all
VLTs specifically formulated to hook players
A big part of the problem, he tells me, is that slot machines and VLTs are so addictive, they’ve been described as the “crack cocaine” of the gambling world, with their games specifically formulated so players get feedback every four to eight seconds, encouraging them to hold on for that big payoff. It’s modelled on that classic psychology experiment in which rats rewarded with cheese every time they perform a task become fat and lazy, while rodents rewarded only once in awhile are happy, energetic and effective, eager to work for a payoff.
Unlike narcotics, there is no telltale sign of addiction: Gamblers don’t smell of booze or have dilated pupils, as with drugs. There are no exaggerated movements or slurred speech. It’s easy to hide, until you can hide it no longer. Marilyn Lancelot, a grandmother in Yuma, Arizona, who once owned two homes and a trailer, found that out the hard way. Her family and close friends never suspected her of doing anything untoward until one day, when she was 54, seven police cars pulled into her driveway and she was led off in handcuffs.
It turned out Lancelot, who worked as a chief bookkeeper, had embezzled more than $300,000 from her employer in order to feed her gambling addiction, a move that cost her 10 months in prison. Frustrated by a male bias at Gamblers Anonymous, she helped found Women Helping Women after she was released: It now has thousands of subscribers across the U.S., Canada and Europe.
I correspond regularly with women now doing time in prison for their gambling habits,” the 77-year-old says. “I write to a bank robber and a former judge who stole money from lawyers. I know what it’s like to be in front of a slot machine or a VLT, totally void of pain and worry. I know what it’s like to feel that you’re not going to leave this machine. It consumes you. And it’s expensive. It’s not like you can drink $100,000 worth of alcohol a year. But you can gamble it away for sure.”
Back in Montreal, Elizabeth sought help with a counselling agency called Viva Consulting Family Life Inc., which has provided her with a lifeline and a sounding board. But she is frustrated that as far as the provincial government is concerned, she is an invisible victim of something that has generated up to $1.3 billion in annual revenues, with about $860 million of that going into the Quebec government’s coffers each year.
"Look at the latest TV campaigns urging problem gamblers to seek help. They imply that only men are addicted. Well, what about me?” asks Elizabeth. “That’s the irony. I’m a strong woman and this has totally floored me. I’m on the floor with this, but I’m still fighting.”
Need help? Check out your local Gamblers Anonymous gamblersanonymous.org or: femalegamblers.org, vivaconsulting.com
This article originally appeared in the October 2007 issue of More
