The bad news is that there has been a “dramatic increase in sports gambling addiction help-seeking since the landmark Murphy v. NCAA Supreme Court decision in 2018 paved the way for states to legalize sports betting.” (JAMA)
More bad news — According to the University of Maryland School of Medicine individuals diagnosed with gambling disorder have a suicide rate 5-10 times greater than the general population and spouses of the gamblers have suicide attempt rates three times higher than the general population.
The good news is that right across the Desplaines River at the corner of First Avenue and Oak Street, the Wayback Inn (WBI) offers a way for gambling addicts to find healing. The mission of WBI, as stated on their website, is “to rebuild lives affected by addiction in a very nurturing manner. Our clients live in a home environment and they are treated as a member of the family. They also include full clinical services most folks are familiar with.”
Silvester Bisaga, WBI’s Peer Support and Outreach coordinator, explained that the program at Wayback Inn lasts 3-4 months for most clients, in contrast to the 28-day detox program offered by many hospitals.
The reason for the long residential stay is to stop gambling in unhealthy ways and also to let go of what Bisaga calls an addictive lifestyle and adopt and integrate a healthier way of living.
“Clients in our program,” he said, “know they’re going to be here for a long time and that gives a different mindset. They begin realizing that this is not just something I need to make it through. If I’m going to do this, I actually need to really begin changing my life.
“So when people begin establishing that sobriety [or release from obsessive gambling], they actually begin doing things like eating three meals a day, you know, and maybe actually going to a doctor.
To that end, said Bisaga, the day at WBI is very structured.
7:00 – Get up, make the bed, tidy the room
Breakfast (self-serve)
8:00 – Off to work or job search
5:00 – Community meeting with devotions
Dinner Together with staff, clients and employees
6:00 – 12-step meeting and/or counseling
Regarding eating dinner together, Bisaga said that addicts tend to isolate and that the opposite of addiction is connections. Using his own experience as an example he said, “When gambling was in control of me instead of the other way around, I didn’t want to be with anyone. I just wanted to be locked in my room and left to my own devices.”
Eating dinner together draws clients out of that isolation, as does working with a team to prepare dinner on a rotating basis
In our interview, Bisaga frequently used the word “surrender.”
“Growing up,” he recalled, “I was told never to be a quitter, never admit that you are defeated, to keep fighting. But when it comes to addiction, I had to wave a white flag and say ‘I’m not gonna win this battle.’ I need to give up and stop fighting this.”
He says he is not a religious person but maintains that spirituality is part of surrendering. “There’s a conception of your own higher power,” he explained, “God according to your own understanding. I needed to find something greater than myself.
At WBI, recovery is facilitated through a residential treatment program with two houses for 23 men in Maywood and a house in Oak Park with 10 beds for women.
Bisaga explained that one reason people get hooked on gambling is that it can have much the same effect on the brain as cocaine does. The WBI website reported that the nonprofit was “started by two guys who were in recovery themselves. They got together in 1973 and said, we want to start a sober home.
“Are You Really Winning? is the state of Illinois’ official problem gambling awareness campaign, created in partnership with the Way Back Inn. Gambling, especially sports betting, is the focus and offers resources for help. It urges individuals to evaluate whether their betting is a harmless hobby, or if it is causing distress and financial harm.”
“If you are questioning your habits,” the ad says, “chasing losses, struggling to cut back, needing to gamble with more money to keep gambling exciting, feeling irritated or restless when trying to cut back on gambling, you are not alone, and free help is available.”
When I googled “Are You Really Winning,” I received a customized response, “You can get confidential, 24/7 support right in the Forest Park area through these official resources:
Call: Reach the statewide support line at 1-800-GAMBLER.
Text: Send the message “ILGAMB” to 833234.
Online: Visit the Illinois Department of Human Services for more resources.
Check out the fictional spiritual adventures of Pastor Walter Mitty @ https://tomholmes10.substack.com.