gambling: help and referral annual report 2011-2012

GAMBLING: HELP AND REFERRAL
In the fall of 1993, at the time the Québec
government established the first casino, a wide
range of measures for the protection of gamblers
were put into place, including Gambling: help and
referral, implemented to make people aware that
gambling is, for some, not a game anymore. The
helpline soon became the reference when one was
looking for help for gambling-related problems.
The service, provided by the Information and
Referral Centre of Greater Montréal, has been
financed by Loto-Québec from 1993 to 2001, and
since April 2001, by the ministère de la Santé et des
Services sociaux du Québec.
Gambling: help and referral offers information,
listening and support on compulsive gambling, as
well as referral to all available help in the field. The
helpline is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a
week, throughout Québec. The personnel responds
to several types of demands and needs: relevant
reflections on the caller’s gambling habits; support
and empathy in moments of great distress, and
stabilization of callers before their referral to
resources specialized in crisis situations. The
anonymous and confidential nature of the
communications allows people to talk about their
difficulties without being afraid to be identified. In
fact, suffering, shame, despair, anxiety and
insecurity are often part of the caller’s burden.
An Advisory Committee of ten people (whose
composition was re-examined and added to this
year) was set up in 2006-2007 to make
recommendations to the Centre regarding
Gambling: help and referral’s mandate as requested
by the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du
Québec. This Advisory Committee held two
meetings this year, notably on the offer of services
for gamblers such as telecounselling. The
Committee also looked into the protocol of referral
that guides our counselors in case of calls dealing
with cyberpedopornography.
Between November 15th, 1993 and March 31st 2012,
nearly 160 000 people turned to Gambling: help and
referral for help or information. 531 Anglophone
people used the helpline this year.
Since January 2006, help is available online (in
French only for now) on the website of Gambling:
Help and Referral, at www.jeu-aidereference.qc.ca
and this website has received this year 770 305 hits,
144 614 pages and 74 900 visits.
ANNUAL REPORT 2011-2012
Of the 7 046 calls received in 2011-2012, 86% came
from concerned people of which 69% were worried
about their own gambling habits (28% were women
and 41% were men). Among the other calls, 8%
came from peers of a gambler (brother, sister, or
friend); 5% from spouses; 4% from parents; and
14% from field workers. Adults accounted for
95.2% of the callers, 3.8% were elderly people and
1% was from teenagers and children.
Requests can be divided in the following categories:
♦
Requests for listening and support from
gamblers themselves, their spouses, their
peers and parents amount to 11% of calls;
♦
Requests for general information amount to
43% of calls;
♦
Requests for therapy, counselling, selfsupport groups, or other related requests as
budgeting, family violence, substance
abuse or suicide amount to 46% of calls.
Among the types of games mentioned most often
by callers were video-lotteries (64% of the
mentions), and poker (6.6%), the slot machines at
the casinos (7%), the lotteries (5.7%), which has
increased again this year.
As for the geographic origin of the
originate from Greater Montréal,
Montérégie, 8% from Québec area,
Outaouais, and 27% from the other
Québec.
calls, 50%
12% from
3% from
regions of
Concerning public relations activities, Gambling:
help and referral participated in 29 activities, four of
which were television or radio broadcasts. In total,
Gambling: help and referral was the subject of 111
mentions in publications or media.
According to its mandate of referring to the
appropriate service, the helpline has directed 22
people with a complaint against organizations or
services to the appropriate authorities. From
November 2010 to April 2012, our service was the
object of two complaints which have been dealt
with in accordance with our current protocol to the
satisfaction of the concerned people.
Since the field of intervention for gambling is in
constant evolution, it requires a training program
which responds promptly to the specific needs of
the personnel. One of our worker participated in a
training day at the Jeudis CDC, on Youth and
Addiction.
Several of our workers attended four workshops
held by Sherbrooke University and the Association
des intervenants en toxicomanie du Québec : Sexualité et
Dépendances, L’aide aux proches, Prévention de la
rechute en dépendance, and also Cyberdépendance :
quand la passion des écrans tourne à l’obsession.
Promotional campaigns:
•
•
•
Provincial campaign with MétroMédiaPlus:
advertising in buses of four targeted regions
(Outaouais, Laurentians, Mauricie, Montérégie),
fall of 2011;
CBS AFFICHAGE with advertising on bus
shelters and billboards in the largest cities of
the Province, winter of 2012;
Two major promotional campaigns were held
by Procité to reach 1 200 000 homes of the
Greater Montréal in the fall of 2011 and in the
winter of 2012.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Publicity
•
With its booth
• Salon Visez Droit, held by the Bar of Montréal,
April 2011;
• Rendez-vous des Aînés, Regroupement des organismes
pour aînés et aînées du Sud-Ouest de Montréal, May
2011.
• Congrès de l’Ordre des Infirmières et Infirmiers du
Québec, October 2011;
• 24th Annual Conference of the Déléguées et
Délégués sociaux, Conseil régional FTQ Montréal
Métropolitain, November 2011;
• Douglas Mental Health University Institute, June,
November 2011, March 2012.
Conference
•
•
•
Participation to several workshops and
conferences, Journées annuelles de santé mentale,
May 2011 ;
Participation to Surdose médiatique et santé des
jeunes, Y des Femmes and Edupax, May 2011 ;
Participation to Activité de transfert des
connaissances concernant le jeu pathologique,
ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, June
2011 ;
National Council on Problem Gambling, 25th
National Conference on Problem Gambling and
emerging innovations, Boston, July 2011 ;
Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, Responsible
Gambling Conference, Halifax, October 2011;
39th Conference of Association des Intervenants en
Toxicomanie du Québec « Prévenir et intervenir en
dépendances : Interagir », Trois-Rivières, October
2011;
Participation to Journées d’échanges sur le
déploiement de l’offre de services en dépendance
2007-2012, ministère de la Santé et des Services
sociaux, November 2011;
Participation to Journée thématique portant sur les
aspects éthiques de la réduction des méfaits, Journées
annuelles de santé publique (JASP), November
2011;
4th
International
Gambling
Conference,
Problem Gambling Foundation of New
Zealand, February 2012;
Participation to transfert des connaissances sur les
impacts économiques sur les jeux de hasard et
d’argent, ministère de la Santé et des Services
sociaux, March 2012.
•
•
•
•
Advertising insert of our Annual Report, 39th
Annual Conference of the Association des
Intervenants en toxicomanie du Québec, October
2011 ;
L’Intervenant, Magazine on alcoholism and
substance abuse, (4 issues) 2011-2012;
Magazine Le Point and Agenda le Point for school
administrations, September 2011;
IDCOM, Directories and Yellow Pages;
More than twenty Agendas of different groups
and weeklies.
During the winter of 2012, the ministère de la Santé
et des Services sociaux launched a major multimedia
campaign to promote awareness of excessive
gambling and advertise our service. We are
grateful for this initiative. Thanks also to Mise sur
toi for several initiatives aiming at publicizing our
service.
We wish to underline that Mrs. Hélène Hamel,
coordinator of Gambling: help and referral, was
invited to the launching of the report of the
committee Action concertée sur les impacts
socioéconomiques des jeux de hazard et d’argent
(INSPQ) and has also been a member of the
Advisory Board for the survey: Les modalités de
commercialization des lotteries au Québec:
2
implications sociales et de santé publique (INSPQ).
Our team of counselors collaborates regularly
with various universities on different research
projects concerning gambling.
Online referral:
The ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux has
given Gambling: help and referral the required
financial support to operate an online referral
service since January 2006.
The web site offers general information and online
help. As a first step, the user has to choose between
asking for help or asking for information. This
service is available not only to gamblers, but also to
their spouses and other members of their families,
their peers and to field workers.
We received 144 requests in 2011-2012. 31% of users
are women and 35% are men, 11% are spouses, 14%
are peers and 9% field workers. 3.5% of users are
teenagers and 4.2% are elderly people.
As for the geographic origin of the requests, we
note a fair representation of requests originating
from Bas-Saint-Laurent, Capitale nationale, ChaudièreAppalaches,
Lanaudière,
Laurentians,
Laval,
Mauricie/Centre du Québec, Montérégie, Montréal and
Outaouais. The requests for information and
services are referred to the appropriate resource in
83% of the cases while the other demands are
solved directly by our counsellors.
Day after day since November 15, 1993, the
Information and Referral Centre of Greater
Montréal takes up the challenge: to manage a 24/7
service which responds to the needs of people
having a problem with compulsive gambling as
well as their relatives. The Centre insures that it
operates within strict financial parameters. An
updated data bank, as extensive and reliable as
possible, keeps up with the development of public
and private resources for people having problems
with compulsive gambling. For eleven years now,
free services are available for gamblers and their
peers. The personnel at Gambling: help and referral
makes sure that these services are well known
throughout the Province. For nearly nineteen years,
we have pursued this objective: to offer a reliable
and quality service of information, referral and
support to the Québec population in that field. We
will continue to do all we can to justify the trust of
the public and of our sponsors who have supported
us since the inception of this service.
Gambling: Help and Referral
514 527-0140
1 800 461 0140
1 866 SOS JEUX
Fax: (514) 527-9712
Help online: (in French only)
www.jeu-aidereference.qc.ca
Lorraine Bilocq Lebeau
Executive Director
[email protected]
Monique Cantin
Director of Communications
[email protected]
Hélène Hamel
Coordinator
[email protected]
3
GAMBLING: HELP AND REFERRAL
STATISTICAL REPORT 2011-2012
SOURCE OF ENQUIRIES
Associations
Colleges, Schools, Universities
Communications Media
Industry, Commerce
Labor & Union
Parapublic services
CLSC
Private agencies
Professional persons
Individuals:
Men
Women
Parents
Peers
Spouses
Public services
Religious organizations
19
75
110
380
2
101
34
217
87
2 857
2 005
260
540
320
38
1
TOTAL
7 046
TYPE OF CONTACT
Telephone calls
Email
6 902
144
TOTAL
7 046
AGE CATEGORIES
Adults
Children
Senior citizens
Teens
TOTAL
6 708
6
264
68
7 046
GEOGRAPHIC REGION
Region 01, Bas-Saint-Laurent
88
Region 02, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
109
Region 03, Capitale Nationale
592
Region 04, Mauricie et Centre du Québec 203
Region 05, Estrie
195
Region 06, Montréal
3 515
Region 07, Outaouais
Region 08, Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Region 09, Côte-Nord
Region 10, Nord-du-Québec
Region 11, Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine
Region 12, Chaudière-Appalaches
Region 13, Laval
Region 14, Lanaudière
Region 15, Laurentides
Region 16, Montérégie
Other regions
TOTAL
236
53
24
10
32
93
245
258
412
859
122
7 046
TYPE OF GAMBLING
Video Lottery Terminal (VLT)
In Bars
1 519
In Ludoplex
4
Bingo
10
Casino:
Crap Games
18
Slot machines
168
Table Games (Black Jack, Roulette,
Baccarat)
113
Poker
64
Cyberdependency
Internet (chat, shopping, stock, etc.) 27
Online Gambling
55
Poker
26
Electronic Games
41
Online games
74
Horse races
4
Lottery
135
Poker
67
Pool betting on sports
30
Others
27
TOTAL
2 382
TYPE OF ENQUIRIES
Complaints against services
Counselling
General Information:
Codependency
22
30
84
4
Gamblers’ Profile
Gambling
Gambling: Help and Referral
Prevention
Self-Exclusion
In-patient Therapy:
Parapublic services
Private services
Listening and support
Out-patient therapy:
Parapublic services
Private services
Telecounselling
Relapse
Social Reintegration
Support group:
Gamblers
Parents
Spouses and Peers
Related requests:
Budget counselling
Crisis management
Drug addiction
Legal services
Mental Health
Shelters
Suicide
Violence
Other requests
TOTAL
132
164
4 456
104
95
FOLLOW-UP CALLS
Additionnal communications
with Clients
for research and update
7
58
154
217
1 265
TOTAL
65
1 804
305
23
4
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Information sessions
(attendance : 2 people)
Meetings and seminars
Radio, TV
684
111
384
TOTAL
2
23
4
29
132
105
136
17
98
48
98
40
972
11 684
TYPE OF REFERRALS
Directed to appropriate resource
Referral calls by our staff
Service rendered without Referrals
Services required insufficient
TOTAL
5 226
4
6 454
11 684
5