Anti-gambling networks have called on Thais to strengthen family ties, saying love and caring can save them from falling into the gambling trap.
The networks, consisting of the Yud-Panan (or Stop Gambling) Network, the No-Gambling Club and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, organised a seminar entitled "A mother's feeling: When gambling destroys a family'', to share ideas on how to tackle gambling addictions in the family.
Panelist Saowalak Boonsaman, 43, a single mum, said she was once badly addicted to gambling for more than 10 years.
"I gambled with my neighbours by betting on the last two digits in the stock market," she said.
"I laid my bets two times a day and stopped playing only on weekends because the stock market was closed."
Ms Saowalak added she enjoyed the gambling until she found herself losing large amounts of money and getting into debt.
She turned to a loan shark to pay for the family's daily living expenses, prompting her son to protest.
"One day my son told me he needed money to study and his happiness should come first, not my gambling," she said.
"He begged me to quit and gave me moral support, which helped me to give up the habit. The reason I quit the gambling is I love my son very much."
A mother and her two children pose with a Burmese python at a snake farm of the Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, the Thai Red Cross Society, which organised snake shows in celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's 83rd birthday yesterday. Somchai Poomlard
Activist and leader of the no-gambling club, Nattaphong Samphaokaew, suggested parental love and good companionship can keep teenagers away from gambling circles.
"Teens take risks because they crave acceptance and want to attract the attention of their friends," he said.
"They won't do this if they gain enough love and attention from their parents."
The club leader said more than half young gamblers are male.
Many have sold possessions such as TVs, radios and refrigerator to pay for their habit.
"Some also steal their parents' money to try their luck in football gambling,'' he said.
These days, gambling is easily accessible since it is widely available online, he added.
Meanwhile, Orakoch Janplee, chairwoman of the Thai Single Mums Association based in Surin province, says the decline in age of single mothers could lead to spin-off problems such as a sharp rise in teen gambling.
"The best way to solve gambling and the rise of unwanted pregnancies among teens is love and understanding in the families," she said.
