Can PAGCOR’s 24/7 Gambling Helpline Actually Help Reduce Gambling Addiction?

[alani123]

In my view, these help lines are a waste of money and should not get support.

The government needs to let this to professionals and let psychologists and psychiatrists establish non profit organizations that willmbe offering personalized help in person.

Call centers are not an answer to the gambling epidemic. They're just a way for governments to funnel money to their technocrat friends.

[rohang]

Has anyone tried calling it? Do they even pick up

Things like this in developing countries usually end up being political gimmicks or PR shows while they are heavily supporting the very thing in backgrounds..

How would a helpline stop a gambler anyways? Its an addiction that even family members cant easily help with

[blockman]

There's a need for PAGCOR do more driven campaign to let gamblers know that they have a helpline if ever they don't know what to do. I'll give props to them on this one because it's really needed. With a lot of established physical casinos and now more with online casinos in the country, they'll have to do something in helping to reduce the number of gambling addicts. But knowing how our country goes with the hotlines or helplines, let's see if soon the budget will remain on this and if it's getting the feedback that it deserves.

[nelson4lov]

It might but we don't know how much impact it could have. Personally, I'd say not much because gambling cases are supposed to be handle at case per case basis and agencies like this usually do it via a one-size-fits-all kind of framework. Also, there are shit ton of people with gambling problems and addiction that don't even know they have a gambling addiction problem to begin with.

Still, it's good to know that there's at least some help that can point people towards the right direction if they ever need it.

[acroman08]

To answer the thread title. With the staff that they have, it wouldn't do much. I've read about this article before and even created a thread on the other forum(altcointalks), PAGCOR's 24/7 help line only has 12 staff(as far as I know), meaning if they are a 24/7 help line, 4 people are only in duty for every shift, that 4 people wouldn't do much, especially when the Philippines has more than a 100M people in it. PAGCOR needs to increase the number of its staff as soon as possible if they actually want to make a noticeable difference.

As for their initiative to order gambling operators to add and promote information about their 24/7 help line is a good thing.

[Cantsay]

Things might turn out to be completely different from what I am currently thinking of, but will things like this actually provide any significant result? 24/7 helpline, how will it help the gambler?

I think anything that won't help a gambler make money or get back what they lost to a certain site will receive very little attention. At first, they might use it since it is still new, but as time goes on, will it continue to have that usage? Early users might be many but I don't think it is going to last that long.

[Orpichukwu]

What do you think about this campaign, would it actually help reduce gambling addiction, or is it just a way for gambling operators and regulators to show that they are doing something?

It's a good campaign; I consider it a good one. It might not help reduce people who could get addicted, but it will help those who are already addicted and seek professional help to get what they want instead of the fear of who to speak with or how to raise money for professional bodies which can assist them. PAGCOR should ride on with this since there are already cases of highly irresponsible gambling behaviour.

[danherbias07]

Nah. I don't believe it can help reduce gambling addiction.

What they may actually need to do is to get strict rules for these local gambling sites and also check on them from time to time. Monitor them. They are eating away the money of the Filipino people without even giving them a chance to win at all. The RTP sucks. The RNG is a fraud.
I believe the local gamblers keep coming back because most of them are chasing losses, not the other way around. It's the start of addiction, and if these local gambling sites keep this kind of strategy, there will be more victims of their high house edge and manipulated games.

It's good to have a helpline, but they should start with what is causing it.

[Powerjumboo]

The helpline service that the government has launched to reduce gambling addiction is undoubtedly a good initiative, this initiative must be applauded. However, it may be of some benefit to those who will use this helpline service, but it will not be of any benefit to those who will not use it and do not accept help. However, we know that it is written on the drug that drinking drugs is harmful to health and causes death, and we can also learn from various advertisements and service helplines, but even then people do not refrain from drug use and no matter how much helpline is used to convince people, they do not respect people at all, but this helpline may be such that if people become addicted to gambling or fall into gambling addiction, they may forget to use this helpline, but of course it is a very good decision to launch this initiative.

[Alpha Marine]

First of all if they want to do it, they have to secretly launch it and if it works then they can publicly announce it and start the campaign. Let them know the impact first before bringing it to the public.

How can they secretly launch something that is meant for the public? If a helpline that is meant for the public and is meant to be on ads of gambling companies is a secret, then what purpose does it serve? How is the public that is meant to use the helpline supposed to know about it if it is not public? Think!!

Let them find the root cause of the gambling addiction first before anything else.

Isn't that part of why they are launching the service? If it actually works the way they want it to, how do you think they intend to help these people?

Trained para-counselors and mental health professionals staff the helpline to provide confidential assistance and counseling.

How do you think the professional will deal with the issue if they don't find out the root cause of their gambling?
Isn't it from talking to them that they can figure out the root cause? Or do you think the root cause of gambling addiction is the same for everybody?

[AmoreJaz]

Nah. I don't believe it can help reduce gambling addiction.

What they may actually need to do is to get strict rules for these local gambling sites and also check on them from time to time. Monitor them. They are eating away the money of the Filipino people without even giving them a chance to win at all. The RTP sucks. The RNG is a fraud.
I believe the local gamblers keep coming back because most of them are chasing losses, not the other way around. It's the start of addiction, and if these local gambling sites keep this kind of strategy, there will be more victims of their high house edge and manipulated games.

It's good to have a helpline, but they should start with what is causing it.

 I am with you on this. Find the root cause and address them. Not checking the surface but the grass roots so to speak. We can't really solve the problem just by giving the so-called "band-aid" solution.

[Rashlyowl]

This looks like good news. Just recently here in the Philippines, PAGCOR, which regulates licensed casinos and sportsbooks both online and offline, launched an initiative called the 24/7 National Problem Gambling Helpline or NPGH. From what I understand, they want this hotline promoted in gambling-related advertisements, so people who are already having problems with gambling can reach out and get help through the proper support channels connected with PAGCOR.

What do you think about this campaign, would it actually help reduce gambling addiction, or is it just a way for gambling operators and regulators to show that they are doing something?

Various conclusions on the internet state that having a hotline can help reduce addiction, even though it ultimately didn't help reduce addiction, I think PAGCOR made a good initiative with that campaign. Philippines is known as one of the countries in Southeast Asia that has a serious problem with gambling, meaning that society really needs it (the hotline).

[bisdak40]

What do you think about this campaign, would it actually help reduce gambling addiction, or is it just a way for gambling operators and regulators to show that they are doing something?

It may not be helpful at first but at least PAGCOR has already acknowledge that we have this problem of gambling addiction. Their help line is undermanned as they only have a limited personnel to take the call but somehow i doubt if there are actually gambling addicts who are calling as they have not given an update or numbers of individuals who used this platform. For me the best way to reduced gambling addiction problem here in the PH is to totally ban online gambling, for sure this could reduced more than 50 percent of the problem as people will be hesitant to go to physical casinos, only the rich will visit those casinos.

[jcojci]

That actually help reduce gambling addiction but they must actively searching those who have a problem in gambling and not just waiting for someone calling. If they just wait for the call, only few people will do that but others will say they are still okay and no problem with them.

Those who have a problem in gambling must open themselves and talk to someone who understand the problem and could helps them to solve the problems.

Maybe they can runs the program for some months to see the effect and if that doesn't gives much, they should think other way to do. It need more things from them so people with a problem want to talk.

[fullfitlarry]

Not sure if this is going to be helpful or what. And being a Filipino, I don't think we have this trait of reaching out specially in our gambling addiction. I have seen a lot of gambling addicts in our place that still convince that they don't have any issues.

So only time can tell, if we are goin to see some data on his hotline so see if it is being successful or not. But as I have said, it's not that this is bad, but I don't see Filipinos going to take advantage of it. Maybe they will quit without the help of others as we are not known for asking for help, in my honest opinion.