Gamblers Anonymous offers the following questions to anyone who may have a gambling problem. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling.

TWENTY QUESTIONS

Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?

YES         NO

Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

YES         NO

Did gambling affect your reputation?

YES         NO

Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

YES         NO

Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise    solve financial difficulties?

YES         NO

Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?

YES         NO

After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?

YES         NO

After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?

YES         NO

Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?

YES         NO

Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

YES         NO

Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?

YES         NO

Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?

YES         NO

Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?

YES         NO

Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?

YES         NO

Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?

YES         NO

Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?

YES         NO

Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

YES         NO

Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?

YES         NO

Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?

YES         NO

Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?

YES         NO

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Scoring Key:
Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.

Please note that I was told by a member of GA that this cut off number was selected at random by the author because it was his favorite number.

I have administered all 3 questionnaires to nearly every patient I have seen for over a decade, and I feel that often this GA-20 form is the best one.