QAMANITTUAQ/BAKER LAKE - Over the last 11 years, Mary Kreelak has seen people take their child tax benefit cheques and use them to buy bingo cards.

They then go to the arena or listen to bingo on the radio three to four nights a week for a chance to win the big bucks.

"People are spending their money needlessly when they should be buying goods and children's clothing," said Kreelak, an alcohol and drug worker at the Tunganiq

Addiction Project in Baker Lake.

A couple of $20 bingo cards could land the buyer $2,000 to $5,000 or the big jackpot, which is sometimes as high as $10,000.

While drug and alcohol addictions are talked about, many Nunavummiut are engaging in gambling - whether it's bingo, playing poker, Patik or pull tickets - and it is taking a toll on not only the person gambling but their families.

According to the Department of Community and Government, Baker Lake held 23 bingos from April 2009 to March 2010.

Kreelak said she knows people are very addicted and some have tried to quit but always revert back to their old hobby.

"Some of the gamblers I talked to think it is a better hobby than drinking," she said.

Whatever the reason for their gambling, those working with these individuals to assist them with their addiction see it has many impacts.

"It affects how a person functions in their everyday life," said Jennifer Gagnon, territorial addictions specialist with the Department of Health and Social Services in Cambridge Bay.

The department refers to gambling as "the wagering of money on games of chance."

She said if individuals are wagering their cars, snowmobiles or quads, they could lose their method of transportation, restricting them from going hunting or fishing out on the land.

Kreelak said children are also affected, as parents who gamble will spend time away from the house. If gambling is done inside the home, children will stay outside the home later at night.

Gagnon said gamblers will try to hide their doings from others and could try to borrow money from family and friends.

In many communities such as Pangnirtung, Baker Lake and Kugluktuk, bingos are often used as fundraisers for sports teams, elders and individuals in need. Kreelak said she is certain if enough people spoke up to their hamlet they could discourage the use of bingos and lotteries as methods of fundraising.

A couple of years ago, the hamlet wrote a letter to Tunganiq asking them to open their doors to help those addicted to gambling.

"There was not too much interest," said Kreelak adding she has gone on the local radio to teach people how to steer away from gambling.

There might not be any gambling-specific treatment or training available, but counsellors working at the health centres across the territory can use the same skills they use to treat other addictions when it comes to gambling.

Gagnon said the department is working on developing gambling-specific training.

She said people looking for resources can turn to the counsellor at their local centre, can go on the Internet or can call several national gambling awareness hotlines.

As to how many people are actually involved in gambling, the territory does not keep any statistics.

"We recognize it as an issue and we will be creating a database on it," said Norman Hatlevik, territorial director for mental health and wellness, Department of Health and Social Services in Cambridge Bay.

He said the last time statistics were collected was in 1999 and they are no longer relevant.

Within the next year, Hatlevik said the department will have a survey ready to go with a focus on Internet gambling, which is becoming more popular.

Kreelak's co-worker, Janet Nungnik, who works as the co-ordinator, said with more people in Baker Lake working at places such as Meadowbank, people have so much money they don't know what to do with it.

"It will be a miracle if Baker Lake ever stops gambling," she said.

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