A gambling addiction, like any other addiction, can be debilitating for anyone who gets stuck in its perpetual cycle. What aggravates this problem even more is the fact that it can be so isolating for people who find themselves trapped. People feel like they are in it by themselves, have no one to talk to, and may even hide it from trusted individuals.

The truth of the matter is that this is how the system is designed. The sheer convenience of depositing money into gambling apps, finding something to bet on, and placing a bet is at anyone’s fingertips. The companies design these systems with intentionality, targeting people who might be prone to addictive behaviors. Due to the ease of access, it’s easy to hide a gambling addiction and hard to spot it within people, unlike other common addictions.

Fortunately, there may be a solution for this issue. A 2022 study led by psycho-informatics researcher Dr. Kenji Yokotani sought to uncover how online “chat forums” assisted in helping people quit gambling. The study found that “gamblers had an increased likelihood of 3-year continuous gambling abstinence if they had many peers in the forums.” The study was built on the premise of the contagion theory—the idea that people’s habits are affected by those of their peers. This theory has also been proven true in using online communities to treat other types of addictions, such as smoking addictions.

The results of this study signal that consistent communication with and support from others online can go a long way in helping people overcome their addictions. Simply being consistently exposed to people commenting about the harms and dangers of gambling can be enough to show a statistical significance in people gambling less. On the contrary, people who spend time around others who gamble often and speak positively about it tend to also fall into the bad habit.

From these findings, we can conclude that an online network of people trying to reach goals of abstinence from gambling and financial freedom can be beneficial to people who want to improve their lives. As a result, we are currently building an app where people will be able to anonymously interact with others who share similar vices, track their progress, and give and receive support along the way.

If you want to support us along our journey, feel free to reach out to us! To stay up to date with what we are doing and be the first to know when our app launches, enter your email below!