Some lessons may be learned at the Hanover Slots facility tonight.
Staff from the Responsible Gambling Council will be at the facility to talk about the risks of developing a gambling problem.
The focus will be on Baby Boomers.
Terry Finn — the Chair of the Responsible Gambling Council — says it’s easier to prevent a problem than to overcome it.
Finn says they want baby boomers to develop a retirement plan on how to spend their free time so they don’t gamble their money away.
He says if people don’t find a hobby, volunteer or exercise for example — they may end up going to a casino or horse track for social interaction and soon find themselves with a gambling problem.
Finn notes it’s easier for someone who is 30 years old to stop gambling and recover their losses than someone who is 65 and doesn’t work anymore.
Finn would know — he had a gambling problem for 40 years before quitting nine years ago.
Finn says he almost lost his family and everything he had.
Stats show 2.1 per cent of Ontarians 55 and older — or about 67 thousand people — currently have a gambling problem.
But Finn says keeping that same 2.1 percentage — the number of Ontario residents with a gambling problem will grow to more than 100 thousand people by 2020.
Members of the Responsible Gambling Council will be at the Hanover Slots from 5 PM to 9 PM tonight.
For more information — visit www.responsiblegambling.org