
Financial measures for the family members:
Category:Advice,Advice for Gamblers' FamilyFirstly:
- Protect yourself;
- Stop being a “facilitator” of gambling.
Then, Follow these general financial measures:
- Do not repay the whole of the gambler’s debt in one go;
- Get to know all items of debts, the total amount and monthly repayments;
- Try to have a debt restructuring plan;
- Provide only limited money assistance and by instalments.
If your family member continues to gamble, you can try the following:
- Cancel all joint credit cards;
- Terminate all joint accounts;
- You can privately open an account to protect yourself. Bank statements can be sent to your relative’s address;
- Make sure that the gambler does not know your bank PIN number;
- Keep valuables in a safety box to avoid the gambler from pawning them;
- Check and destroy all pre-approved credit cards received in the post;
- Do not guarantee any loans or take any financial responsibility;
- Inform creditors of the gambling problem and request them not to lend any more money to the gambler;
- Take control of managing the family’s finances.
If the gambler has stopped gambling, you can try the following:
- Request the gambler to hand over or trim off all credit cards;
- Request the gambler to transfer his salary into your account, and give them their living expenses on a weekly basis;
- Request the gambler to explain their gambling problems to their creditors and offer to provide a repayment plan within thirty days;
- Request the gambler to explain their gambling problem to relatives and friends and ask them not to lend out money to the gambler, in support of his recovery.