NCPG Awareness Week

There have been many attempts to try to cure or lessen problem gambling. According to the National Council on Problem gambling two to three percent of the population of the United States has a problem with excessive gambling. That may not seem like a big number but the population of the United State is so immense that two percent means hundreds of thousands of people suffer from an addiction to gambling. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling the number seems to be more along the lines of six to nine million people that have trouble coping with the stress or other issues regarding gambling. It was not disclosed whether their problems were directly linked to a land based casino or an online casino.

The National Council on Problem Gambling announced that they will be hosting a week long event to help prevent problem gambling. The Annual National Problem Gambling Awareness Week will be held from March 1, 2009 through March 7, 2009. The week will focus on issues that the online casino industry is no stranger to. The main portal that the Awareness Week will be through the use of You Tube, there will be Public Service Announcements regarding online casinos, poker gambling issues, and much more. The organization hopes to get a social network to openly discuss problem gambling and will hopefully have some of the viewers decide to take the first step towards a road to recovery.

Although the online casino industry has been targeted as a majority of the problem, which will not be the focus of the week long event. Jeff Beck, the Awareness Week Chair said, "We decided to use YouTube because it is popular with kids and young adults who are at greater risk for gambling problems. We already have a dozen videos and hope that recovering gamblers will create their own spots to highlight the theme of Real Addiction, Real Recovery." The NCPG Program Manager, Linda Abonyo added: "Online social networking sites provide a cost effective and confidential forum for individuals to interact with peers and experts without having to leave their home or office. More and more people are finding it easier to communicate through e-mail, online forums, and text messaging, so it makes sense that we should consider reaching out to our constituents through these outlets."