I considered, for the first time in four years, not to write this annual blog on slot machine gambling.
However, if this helps even one person out there get away from the grip of the slots, it’ll be well worth it to continue with this yearly ritual.
One of the things that helped solidify my anti-slots stance in the past year – as if I needed more convincing after wasting countless time and money on the one-armed bandits up to several years past, when I self-excluded myself from Ontario’s casinos four years ago almost to the day – was reading Addiction by Design. The book, by Natasha Dow Schüll (an associate professor from the United States) is a blueprint for why people should steer clear of the slots.
It isn’t only just the machines – the biggest money maker on casino floors – that lure you in. The author notes that everything from the design of the carpeting (which prompts people to head to machines) to the lack of windows (to make you lose track of time) in casinos is aimed at parting you with your money.
It’s insidious. And it’s a major-league cash grab.
Due to COVID-19, that financial grab has been slowed in Ontario and other locales in recent times as casinos have either been shut outright or reduced in their capacity. It’s one of the few good things about the pandemic.
But there are still gamblers out there just waiting to play the slots again. And that’s a shame.
But there is hope.
ConnexOntario is a 24-hour, year-round way to access such hope for those with a gambling or mental health problem. It’s toll-free and anonymous – call 1-866-531-2600 to take your first step against the slots.
Eric Schmiedl 