You’ve heard it all before. Seek help if you have a gambling problem. You might dismiss it as cliché, but the actual numbers are staggering. Two to three percent of the population of the United States will meet criteria for problem gambling every single year. No big deal, you say? Think again. That means six to nine million Americans are inflicted with problem gambling each year. The likelihood is that you, or someone you know, may have a gambling problem. Luckily, the National Council on Problem Gambling has launched the National Problem Gambling Awareness Week. It’s a nationwide campaign to talk about the disorder and its treatment. PocketFives.com sat down with NCPG Executive Director Keith Whyte to talk about the Awareness Week and what it means for gamblers everywhere, both live and online.

The Awareness Week officially runs from March 9th to March 15th. The focus of the initiative is two-fold, according to Whyte: “The main reasons we started it were to (1) raise general public awareness and (2) to educate health care professionals about problem gambling. We want to let the public know that problem gambling is a treatable disorder. For health care professionals, we want them to know that problem gambling often occurs with other disorders that they’re used to dealing with. 50% of problem gamblers have a substance abuse problem. Many of them are depressed. Many have physical symptoms like high blood pressure, an upset stomach, and cardiac issues. We’re trying to get doctors to ask questions with our issue in mind. There are real physical markers to problem gambling.”

The NCPG has attacked radio and television airwaves across the country for its 2008 campaign. If you’re lucky, you might just catch one of their public service announcements. The NCPG is also focusing on advertisements in industry trade magazines. Last year, Lottery Insights ran a full-page ad about the Awareness Week. In 2007, the NCPG reached 150 million people, or about half of the country’s residents. The message is simple: “It’s rare to meet someone who doesn’t have a gambling problem in their family. Our message is that it’s a problem, but it’s treatable. We’re not saying don’t gamble; we’re saying if you gamble too much, it’s treatable. We’re focusing on getting people help.”

Specifically, the 2008 message focuses on hope: “The basic message is that if gambling is a problem for you, there is hope available. The psychology of a gambling problem is that you’re always one bet away from winning everything back, which can lead to a downward spiral of chasing your losses. So many people with gambling problems don’t know they can get off that merry-go-round. They know that they can’t pay their rent, but they don’t see any other way out. We’re trying to help people break that cycle. That’s the core of our message.” Each person who suffers from problem gambling affects 15 to 25 other people negatively.

The NCPG has made a full arsenal of materials available on its Awareness Week website, www.npgaw.org. Whyte comments on what you can expect: “There are over 75 free materials on the site you can download. There are brochures, proclamations, press releases, and screening tools. There are rack cards that can be downloaded. They cover how to gamble responsibility, what to do if you have a gambling problem, and other materials that small and large casino and gaming operators alike can use.”

The number of gamblers who play online and have a gambling problem is still under study. The emerging market is under intense focus by the NCPG. After all, it’s simple for online poker players to open up 10 tables with the click of a button and instantly start playing. Whyte comments on the online poker player’s heavy play: “Heavy play alone is not indicative of a gambling problem, but all problem gamblers are heavy players. In general, heavy play is not always problematic.” Whyte notes that the amount of information available for the NCPG to study online is enormous. The online poker world may, at some point, revolutionize the ability to study gambling behavior because there is so much data available.

The important aspect to remember is that problem gambling is treatable. Much like alcohol, treatment for problem gambling involves participation in group meetings on a local level and referral to a professional counselor. There are plenty of self-help tools available online.

Visit www.npgaw.org for the full details of the Awareness Week. The NCPG’s website can be found at www.ncpgambling.org.