Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Meetings

General Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Meeting Information

With 1,000’s of GA meetings being held around the world every day, it’s easy for you to find live meetings and online meetings with people from your local community in attendance. If you are in a treatment center, they will have meetings and may also provide transportation to and from meetings. Many meetings have childcare, to ensure mothers and fathers can attend meetings also.

Meetings for Gamblers Anonymous and are most often held in public places like churches, community centers, club houses and parks. During the COVID pandemic, many of your local GA meetings are still being held on the same day and time as before, but have transitioned to an online platform like Zoom. While GA groups do not affiliate themselves with any particular religion, they are spiritual in nature, with a goal of being a safe place for people with gambling, drug and alcohol problems to meet, share their experience, strength and hope with each other, and take the 12 steps of Gamblers Anonymous  to rid yourself of your gambling use, clean up any wreckage you may have caused and heal yourself. The 12 steps of Gamblers Anonymous  are specifically designed to help suffering gambling addicts rebuild their lives.

Types of Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Meetings

As a general rule, there are two standard types of Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings: open meetings and closed meetings. An open GA meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend, including people suffering from gambling addiction, friends, family members, students, members of the community, observers, first responders, treatment providers and more. Closed GA meetings are for individuals suffering from gambling addiction, who identify as a gambling addict, and/or have a desire to stop gambling.

Open and closed Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings often follow various formats including:

• Discussion GA Meetings: Possibly the most common meeting format, the chairperson or leader of the meeting will choose a topic to discuss during the meeting. These meetings may be open or closed.
• Beginner GA Meetings: These meetings are led by a veteran member who has been Gamblers Anonymous (GA) for a long period of time and may follow a variety of formats (discussion, topic, book, literature, step, etc.), while focusing on the first three of the 12 Steps of Gamblers Anonymous (GA), or it may be more of a question-and-answer type format.
• Speaker GA Meetings: GA members who have stopped gambling for a minimum period of time may be chosen beforehand to share their past experiences and how working through “The Program,” as GA’s 12 Steps and Traditions may be referred to, has helped them get to where they are today. These GA meetings are occasionally open to the public, with some being recorded, so you can listen to your favorite Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Speakers any time you want.
• Book, Step, Tradition or Literature GA Meetings: A reading from various GA Literature is read, shared on and worked through during the meeting. These GA meetings are usually held in a rotation as the GA Steps, Traditions, Book or Literature are worked through. Individuals may use workbooks and texts during the GA meeting or for homework assignments.
• Service GA Meetings: These may be information meetings about GA service opportunities within the group or GA as a whole. Often times reports on GA service activities the GA group has performed are often provided.
• Group Inventory GA Meetings: GA members work to determine if the particular GA group is fulfilling its primary purpose and functioning effectively.
• Business GA Meetings: Generally, Gamblers Anonymous (GA) business meetings are for the GA members involved in the business aspects of the GA group. They may also include the GA group electing officers or other GA group business needs.

People can attend as many Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings as the want and are often encouraged to attend a number of meetings until they find a meeting or set of meetings they like and that have people attending who they can relate to. People are encouraged to find a GA home group which they attend regularly. This is usually a meeting you relate to, that has people who are benefiting from the meeting and Gamblers Anonymous (GA) program. They generally take a commitment at their GA home group and hold themselves and others accountable for attending.

How is a Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Meeting Conducted?

Gamblers Anonymous (GA) membership is open to anyone who suffers from gambling addiction, identifies as a gambling addict, and/or has a desire to stop gambling. People do not have to do anything prior to attending a GA meeting; they can just show up. Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meeting attendance is kept confidential, and individuals are welcome to attend as many different Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings as they desire. Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings are typically an hour, but there are also many longer meetings and some shorter in duration.

Typical Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Meeting Format

Individual Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups may differ slightly in the way they are their individual Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings, but in general, a typical format for an GA meeting is as follows:

• Welcome and opening
• Moment of silence and recitation of the Serenity Prayer
• Explanation of 12-Steps, expectation of confidentiality, and reiteration of openness to all and no cost for membership
• Reading from the Gamblers Anonymous (GA) Literature
• Introductions around the room (first name only, though no one is required to speak)
• Introduction of the speaker or facilitator of the meeting
• Discussion
• Announcements
• Passing of the collection plate, donations are not required although this is how the GA group sustains itself
• Closing, most likely with a Gamblers Anonymous (GA) reading and a closing prayer

As Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings are meant to be a fellowship, there is also often coffee and refreshments at some point either before, during, or after the GA meeting for networking and socializing. GA members may choose to volunteer at GA meetings as coffee makers, greeters, literature distributor, or they can get more involved volunteering as the GA group’s secretary, GA treasurer, GA chairperson, etc.

Those who have been in Gamblers Anonymous (GA) for a long period of time may become a “sponsor” for newer GA members. A sponsor is a more veteran member of the GA group, who has gone through the same difficulty you may be facing, has taken the 12-steps of the GA program, will guide you through the 12 steps of Gamblers Anonymous to help with your success. GA sponsors also offer encouragement around the clock, helping to provide in-the-moment support and guidance when needed, and introduce you to other Recovery Resources. GA sponsors are often available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, usually by phone, to help sponsees get through potentially difficult situations, temptations, or triggering events. GA sponsors may meet or check-in with their sponsees regularly, and lifelong relationships may be formed.

Gamblers Anonymous (GA) groups are safe environments free from gambling, where individuals are surrounded by others with the same goal of sustained recovery. These Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings can provide individuals with a network of peers who can understand and empathize with each other in ways that others who are not in Gamblers Anonymous (GA) may not be able to as easily.

The Recovery HQ Team is here to help you!

It’s important to know that you and your loved one are not alone in your fight for life. Whether you choose to go to Gamblers Anonymous (GA) meetings, take up meditation or yoga or use other resources, taking the first step toward regaining your life has begun. Contact our dedicated team and we will help find the solution which best fits your needs.