Most people gamble for entertainment, namely, responsibly and in accordance to their financial revenues. However, for a small percentage of gamblers, gambling is not entertaining but a real problem that must be taken seriously. When gambling, always remember the following:

• Set a maximum loss limit, for a specific time, and force yourself to stick to it;
• Never play to win at all costs, but consider gambling as a pleasure, the pleasure of trying;
• Never borrow money from your family or financial institutions to gamble;
• Take regular breaks;
• Alternate gambling with other activities;
• Never play during periods of trouble, stress, depression or confusion;
• Play only with money available for pleasure. Never play with money intended for important expenses (food, rent, electricity, heating, etc.);
• Never consider gambling as an escape from your everyday problems.

We wish to stress that diagnoses related to gambling issues can only be made by specialists with adequate diploma. This page provides tools that can help you to quickly assess and analyze your own behavior.

How to find out whether you are taking a bad direction or are threatened by gambling addiction? You just need to test your gambling profile by honestly answering the following questions:

• Is your work time affected by your gambling? (YES – NO)
• Do you sometimes gamble to pay for debts or solve financial problems (YES – NO)
• After losing, do you go on gambling to try and recover your loss? (YES – NO)
• Do you sometimes borrow money to gamble? (YES – NO)
• Do you sometime hesitate to assign everyday life expenses for food or accommodation to gambling? (YES – NO)
• Does the fact of gambling keep you away from your family? (YES – NO)
• Does your gambling damage the well-being of your family? (YES – NO)
• Do you sometimes bet longer than expected? (YES – NO)
• Do you bet to escape your concerns or boredom? (YES – NO)

If you answered yes to a majority of the above questions, please seek an addiction help professional.

Finally, if you are concerned about your gambling, why not take an independent and anonymous survey to help you understand more? You can complete the Cambridge Health Alliance’s BBGS e-Screener, by clicking here. Health-e-Gambling is an online source that provides gambling information, resources and self-help tools created by the Division on Addiction, Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching department affiliated with Harvard Medical School.


"A First Step Towards Change": The Harvard Medical School Self Help Toolkit

The Division on Addiction has gathered its scientific results through addiction research and created the Self Help Toolkit. This website offers support to people who may be suffering from gambling related problems, provides an analysis of existing behavioral traits and assists in the development of self-help strategies. "A First Step Towards Change, A Resource to Guide You on Your Journey to Change" takes only 20 minutes.

This page was last reviewed and updated: June 2020