Financial measures for the family members:

Financial measures for the family members:

Category:Advice,Advice for Gamblers' Family

Firstly:

• 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.