Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Nov 11/02) - On TV, radio or at a hall, it's one of the most popular of Northern pastimes -- bingo.

Across the territory, people love to play. But for many, bingo can become an addiction, straining finances and stealing time from family.

"People don't want to believe that bingo is a problem, because they don't feel pain, hung over and sick," says addictions counsellor Martin Carroll in Inuvik.

Carroll works at Turning Point, a counselling centre and homeless shelter, and he is also an Anglican minister.

"We don't specifically see people for gambling problems, but it comes up as an issue. Many people with one addiction will switch to gambling, because it occupies their mind. But it still does the same thing to their families as alcohol does -- it takes away resources and time."

The statistics are telling. In Inuvik alone, players spent $1.9 million on bingo cards during the first nine months of this year, according to the town office. That's about $550 for every man, woman and child. In the same time period, Inuvik players spent an additional $887,000 on Nevada tickets.

Spending a few dollars on the odd game might seem harmless enough. But at the Family Counselling Centre in Inuvik, mental health worker George Pappas says gambling addiction can come on fast.

"Gambling happens very quickly, so the addiction can come suddenly -- it goes from recreational to serious addict very quickly," Pappas says.

Because gambling is a socially accepted way of spending time, it can be hard to recognize the signs of addiction.

"People think of alcoholism as a problem.

"They think of doing coke as a problem, but they don't think of gambling as a problem, and it is."

Signs of gambling addiction include borrowing money to play, thinking about playing all the time, stealing or lying in order to play, neglecting children or family members, or feeling withdrawal symptoms when not gambling.

When compulsive gamblers accept they have a problem, it can become first step towards recovery. Often people gamble to cope with their problems, Pappas says.