OLYMPIA – For most Washington State residents, the arrival of Super Bowl week means choosing favorite teams, chatting with friends about their team's chances, placing a harmless bet or two in an office pool and making plans to attend or host Super Bowl Sunday parties.

But for problem gamblers, Super Bowl week can be a nightmare – the biggest sports book of the year and a time when the temptation to gamble reaches irresistible levels. Sports betting experts say more than $100 million will be ponied up for Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals.

"This is a tough time of year for recovering gamblers," says Linda Graves, Problem Gambling Program manager in the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse in the Department of Social and Health Services. "Everywhere they turn; there is a reminder of the Super Bowl contest and the importance of choosing sides and picking winners. Even fast food restaurants have Super Bowl themes on food and drink containers, and newspapers and television news reports regularly reiterate the odds and how they are changing from day to day."

"It's much like an obese person working in a bakery," she says. "The temptation is not only there, but very few people take the state’s prohibition on sports gambling seriously."

Graves said the answer is not to crack down on office Super Bowl pools, but for more of us to recognize that people react differently – and that for problem gamblers even innocent opportunities to wager may lead to difficult choices and even set back their efforts to control unhealthful urges.

"What I recommend is that people wake up and understand that one person's innocent diversion could drive someone else into a very destructive personal choice."

The state's Problem Gambling Program offers assessment and outpatient treatment for problem gamblers and their family members, free of charge to those who can't pay for it. All services are confidential. The program is administered by the state Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse in the Health and Recovery Services Administration of DSHS.

"A gambling problem isn't just one person's concern – it affects family members, coworkers and friends," Graves said. "Know the signs. If you or someone you know needs help to stop gambling, call the Problem Gambling Help Line, anytime, at 1-800-547-6133. There is hope."

Signs of problem gambling:

• Am I spending more time and money on gambling than I used to?
• Am I spending a lot of time thinking about gambling?
• Have I tried to cut back or stop, but can't?
• Am I irritable or restless when I can't gamble?
• Does gambling help me escape my troubles and make me feel better?
• Have I gone back another day to win back my losses?
• Have I lied to people I care about to hide my gambling?
• Have I taken money that wasn't mine, written bad checks because of gambling, or broken any laws?
• Have I neglected my family or job because of gambling?
• Have I borrowed money from others to pay bills?

Want help? Call the state's problem gambling hotline at 1-800-547-6133.

FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, CONTACT:

Deb Schnellman, communications manager, DASA, HRSA, DSHS 360-725-3763

Jim Stevenson, communications director, HRSA, DSHS, 360-902-7604 (Pager: 360-971-4067).

DSHS does not discriminate, and provides equal access to its programs and services for all persons without regard to race, color, gender, religion, creed, marital status, national origin, sexual orientation, age, veteran's status or the presence of any physical, sensory or mental disability.