Radio Features

Shropshire based counselling service Impact was set up to provide help for people struggling with alcoholism. However, another charity, Gamcare, has encouraged Impact to tailor their counselling for another group of people who are increasingly in need of support.

In 2006 it was estimated that the global online gaming market was worth £15bn. Since then the number of gaming sites and players have increased several fold. Impact hope to offer help to those in the county who have become addicted to games such as online bingo, and get some idea of the scale of the problem.

While traditional methods of gambling are highly visible, online gaming presents some unique problems, as Impact Senior Advisor Jill Poorley explained: "It's a very solitary thing that people can do on their own, secretively without anybody knowing. As far as we can tell, it's increasing all the time."

Neither does the addiction just affect the person who is gambling. "Financially it can be quite devastating because it's an addiction that needs to be fed and it can increase, so it has a knock-on effect on the family," Ms Poorley suggested.

Ms Poorley said she was not sure how bad the situation was in the county: "The next few weeks will tell us just what a problem it is in Shropshire as the referrals come through."

Christine from Telford, who did not want to give her surname, said she was worried about her daughter's gambling habit, which had started when she took up the offer of a free £10 online bingo voucher: "She won a little bit, but spent more than she's actually won and it's something she wouldn't be spending if she hadn't got it online."

Christine said she could not stop her daughter: "If I try to say anything she just blanks me. I've tried to dissuade her."

Families affected

Christine is also concerned about the effect it has on her daughter's family: "While you are on there you're not acknowledging your children, you're not acknowledging your husband. It's just solely you and that screen."

Jane, who is from Hollinswood and did not want to be identified, said she used to play bingo online, but had stopped because of the conversations she encountered in the chat room of the site: "Some of them are very, very strange and some of them are saying how much they've spent... £150 in a day."

She said it would be easy to spend too much and become addicted: "You could become hooked, because I think there's always (if you get down to the last one or two numbers)... 'better luck next time. I'll try again.'"

For more information, contact Impact on 01952 223165‎