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The BC Lottery Corporation has a Game Break Program put in place in all gambling centres as well as PlayNow.com in hopes of helping problem gamblers stay away from their addiction.

In casinos throughout BC, including Kelowna's Playtime and Chances casinos, players who recognize they have a gambling problem can help themselves through the Game Break Program.

"This program allows individuals to self-exclude themselves from the casino for a set period of time," Happie Poonian, Regional Team Lead for Player Health at BC Lottery Corporation, says. "Through that process, people are provided with information about referrals, and support, and treatment, or any number of community resources that are available that are provided to them by the province through the BC government support."

Through this program, self-identified problem gamblers can exclude themselves from several gambling institutions: casinos, community gambling centres, the slot floor of race tracks, gambling facilities offering bingo, and online gambling available on PlayNow.com for six months to three years.

"Individuals that have chosen to self-exclude from a gambling facility with slot machines or a commercial bingo hall will not be eligible for a PlayNow.com account. If an account exists, it will be suspended. Self-exclusion begins as soon as a person enrolls and it cannot be cancelled or changed until the term expires," reads the BC Lottery Corporation website.

One of the many measures put in place by the BC Lottery Corporation to ensure that this program works is the mandated identification check at the entrance of any type of gambling facility.

Poonian said programs are much more successful when they involve individuals self-identifying themselves as problem gamblers rather than being deemed problematic by someone else.

"What we found is that people who are able to take that step themselves and basically request that they be excluded by themselves, they're the ones that we find are the most successful when it comes to getting control of any gambling challenge that they might be having," Poonian says. "That's why a really good strategy for us is to be able to really have a conversation with that person, and encourage that support and give them referrals, point them to the different community resources out there, whatever that might be."

This is where the role of the GameSense advisors comes in. Every casino in the province is mandated to have GameSense advisors whose responsibilities don't just stop at standing at their information desk to share information on gambling upon request.

"GameSense advisors will also run around the casino floor, building relationships with players, checking in on them, and continuing to encourage healthy play and to answer the questions as they come across the casino floor," Poonian says.

According to Poonian, building relationships with players like this allows individuals with gambling problems to feel more comfortable coming forward to advisors to seek the proper help and advice they need.

The BC Lottery Corporation conducts and manages gambling on behalf of the Province and they launched GameSense in 2009 in hopes of helping players understand how gambling works and offering resources to those who might be problem-gamblers.

To get more information on the Game Break Program, visit the BC Lottery Corporation here. 

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