With college football getting underway and the N.F.L. regular season approaching, Nebraska’s problem-gambling advocates are urging bettors to decide their limits before placing a wager.
Mike Sciandra, executive director of the Nebraska Council on Problem Gambling, recommends setting boundaries on time, attention and money before the first bet goes in. He says one warning sign is when gambling stops being fun and starts taking over a person’s thoughts.
Sciandra also says people should watch for constant thinking about gambling, betting more often, or trying to win back earlier losses. He calls that last behavior “chasing,” meaning an effort to recover money already lost.
He says gambling can become a problem when it starts causing anxiety, irritability or financial and work-related trouble. The key, he says, is to set limits before starting and stick to them.
As covered in August, warnings about gambling harm were already part of Nebraska’s wider debate over online betting.
Sciandra says free and confidential treatment is available through the Nebraska Gamblers Assistance Program, and the hotline is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Anyone struggling can call 1-833-BET-OVER, or 1-833-238-6837.
Sciandra speaks from personal experience. In a separate account on the Southeast Community College website, he said he called the Nebraska Problem Gambling Helpline on Dec. 14, 2020, after more than 25 years struggling with problem gambling. He said he received free outpatient treatment through the Nebraska Gamblers Assistance Program at Choices Treatment Center.
That treatment included multiple individual and group counseling sessions each week, daily check-ins, journaling, assignments, budgeting help and other financial education, according to SCC. Sciandra said he has now been bet-free for nearly six years.
He also says gambling has become more normalized, which makes it more important for people to notice warning signs in themselves and others. He says giving up gambling changed the way he watches sports, including moving away from a focus on statistics, point spreads and over-unders.
“I can actually enjoy sports now without worrying about the financial piece to it,” Sciandra said.
