Let’s Stop The Gambling Addiction Once and For All! – Khmer Times

At the height of the late King Father Norodom Sihanouks Sangkum Reastr Niyum regime in the 1960s, it is said that a poor manual labourer in Kampong Cham provinces Kang Meas district became an instant millionaire when he won the biggest lottery at the time.

He then built a big house and bought a car with a chauffeur, recalls Son Sarath, a 69-year-old former teacher who lived in the same commune on the border with Kandal province.

Sarath says people throughout the province then became obsessed with the national lottery with the hope that they might also become lucky with good winnings.

Some people bought the lottery tickets every day, he says. Then, many people became addicted to gambling.

However, the former schoolteacher says the government banned illegal gambling except during the Khmer New Year holiday when people were allowed to play cards, dies, or any type of gambling for fun.

More than half a century later, many people in Kampong Cham province and other parts of Cambodia have become addicted to Vietnams national lotteries, the number games which are illegal in Cambodia.

Every morning, people chat in the coffee shops about their night dreams, says Sarath. Then, they will guess which lottery numbers will appear later in the day based on their dreams.

The grandfather says some people go even further by rubbing face power on some famous statues and try to see the likeliness of the supposed numbers left in the trails.

Some people almost go crazy with the number games, he says. In the end, they lose everything.

Nevertheless, some local people have resorted to either national or private lotteries run by different companies after widespread crackdown by the authorities to avoid being arrested for playing or running illegal Vietnamese number games.

Chamroeun Nira, a 25-year-old lottery seller in Kampong Cham, says she has been selling the national lottery scratch cards for a few months after she stopped working at a garment factory.

Many people are addicted to playing Vietnamese number games, she says. But, now people enjoy buying the national lottery scratch cards because they know the results instantly.

Nira says she could not sell many tickets when she started selling the lottery scratch cards in the villages as they were new games to the villagers.

Now, I can sell between 50 and 100 lottery tickets every day, says the mother with a single child. I cannot earn much, but it is enough to buy food for my small family.

She says local villagers only buy a few tickets of between 50 cents and one dollar each just to try their luck of the day.

Some people win $10 or $20 after they only scratch one ticket or two, she says. A few people buy around $5 worth of the tickets and then they stop playing.

As Nira is talking about her lottery ticket selling career, a customer approaches her with a young daughter.

Now, let me help buy you three tickets, says the customer in her early 40s. I will scratch two and let my daughter scratch one.

Its 6,000 riels (about $1.50) in total, calculates the seller.

What a bad day for me! shouts the customer after she scratches her two tickets.

But, I win 4,000 riels, exclaims her daughter with excitement.

The customer who asks not to be named says she only buys a few tickets every few days just for fun and to try her luck.

If I am addicted to gambling, my husband will divorce me, she says with a laugh.

Meanwhile, most villagers say they try to stay away from playing lotteries and all kinds of gambling.

I am a vendor, so I dont believe in luck like playing the lottery, says 36-year-old Chhum Muoyly, who sells drinks and snacks at a street store in Kampong Cham. If I dont work hard, I cannot earn money to feed my family.

Muoyly says she has seen some villagers become poorer after they have been addicted to gambling and play all sorts of games every day.

Indeed, former schoolteacher Son Sarath says even the manual labourer who won the biggest lottery in the 1960s became poverty-stricken again after he became a rich man for a short while.

After he lost all the money to gambling, he started selling his car and then his house, says Sarath. Finally, he became a poor manual labourer like before.

Of course, various experts and psychiatrists have come up with a number of recommendations for people to fight addiction to gambling.

According to the website The Recovery Village, here are the seven tips that a gambling addict can follow to recover from addiction:

To eliminate gambling from your life, you must learn about the issue and admit you have a gambling problem.

Be honest with yourself when you look over the symptoms of gambling disorder, or even better, ask a loved one about their opinion of your gambling for a clearer understanding.

Support groups are organisations maintained by people with similar experiences and pasts. Though support groups lack professional interventions, they are free to try out in person or in online chat rooms.

For someone in recovery, avoiding people, places, and activities linked to gambling can help them avoid a setback. By avoiding these triggers, you can avoid the thoughts and feelings that encourage gambling. Work with a loved one and find ways to avoid the temptations to reduce the risk of gambling.

With addictions, there are cravings. Cravings are strong urges to complete the desired behavior. All cravings have a beginning, middle, and end. So as long as you can postpone your gambling, you can maintain recovery.

Avoiding triggers and distracting during cravings are great ways to deal with gambling, but to improve your state, youll need to find healthy alternatives to gambling such as physical activity, meditation, and spending more time with friends and family who do not gamble.

Shame and guilt are strong feelings for anyone in recovery from addiction. Think about the consequences of your past gambling, including the emotional pain you caused your loved ones and the financial hardships you put your family.

If your gambling is severe, consider seeking professional help as soon as possible. Professional treatment from a mental health or addiction specialist could be the difference between a life of financial uncertainty versus living in financial stability.

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Let's Stop The Gambling Addiction Once and For All! - Khmer Times