Download shows the quick route to get smart tips on problem betting

The Gambling Therapy app gives “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going” as its motivational message of the day and that may well be true but there are some routes to a destination which are quicker and easier than others and the Gambling Therapy app provides a particularly helpful pathway to beating addiction.

For those punters who are accustomed to the convenience of betting through apps on their smartphones, accessing advice and help through this well designed app is just as quick as placing an in-play bet to beat the boredom of watching a lacklustre match.

Accessible through the App Store or Google Play, it has been downloaded more than five thousand times since its launch, while the Gambling Therapy website gamblingtherapy.org has had more than three million hits.

Adele Duncan, CEO of the Gordon Moody Association, which offers among other services, residential treatment for pathological gamblers and which has created the app, stresses that the National Gambling Helpline provided by GamCare is an important first port of call for those seeking help, while the app is particularly effective for non-English speakers as it has been translated into ten languages.

“We’re trying to find different ways to help people,” Duncan says, “and the app provides instant reminders of what you can do to control your gambling.

“You can download it in seconds and it’s so easy to use. People who don’t need it are downloading it anyway, then playing around with the tools, testing themselves about their gambling habits.

“And if someone picks up your phone and looks at the screen the app logo doesn’t show explicitly what it is, it doesn’t scream ‘problem gambling’.

“The mindfulness exercises are particularly beneficial and can be used to support family and friends, not just the gambler.”

There are three mindfulness audios, one lasting 13 minutes entitled Surviving The Craving and designed to help users cope when the urge to gamble strikes.

It is just one of the innovatory aspects of the app which also has direct access to a live text-based chat helpline, links to software for blocking betting websites, explanations of how to self-exclude or set limits, an online forum and links to access crisis organisations such as the Samaritans.

It also features the self-assessment quiz that everyone who bets should take regularly as a health check on their gambling. Questions include “How often have you bet more than you could afford to lose?” and “How often have you needed to gamble with large amounts of money to get the same level of excitement?”, which, if answered honestly, could bring an affirmative answer from many.

The quiz brings up an instant score on completion and a route to advice and help if the total points recorded has hit a worrying figure.

And then there is the motivational message, which changes on a daily basis but is frequently on the lines of “With will one can do anything”.

That also may be true but these days you can also do pretty much anything through an app and if you bet through one then why not use one to combat the urge to bet as well or find support if you are concerned about your gambling habits.

If you are concerned about your gambling and are worried you may have a problem, click here to find advice on how you can receive help