The director for family service and support from the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, Mr Wong Kwong Sing, said that, clearly, gamblers were prone to thinking that their debts - rather than their addiction to gambling - was the problem.

'Most gamblers who call us don't call back or commit to counselling, once they find out they can't get money from us to settle their debts,' he said.

Referring to the other half of calls coming from family and friends of gambling addicts, he noted that they used the hotline to find a way to mend strained ties and help the addict with his problem.

For them, the hotline is a lifeline for emotional support, said Mr Wong. 'It's a good sign that family and friends have taken the initiative to call. Otherwise, we would not have been able to reach this group of problem gamblers.'

At least eight gambling addicts have completed the society's 16-session face-to-face counselling programme, with none of them having fallen back to their old ways.

Mr Wong will share the society's experience in dealing with problem gamblers and their families during Singapore's first gambling conference, which begins today.

The two-day event at the Orchard Hotel has attracted about 500 local and international participants, one of the largest turnout for such a conference, said plenary speaker Dr Jeffrey Derevensky, who has dealt with youth gamblers in Canada.

One-third of the participants are educators and school counsellors, which indicates a high level of awareness of the need here to educate students about the risks of gambling.

The National Council on Problem Gambling, which is organising the conference, said it hoped the conference would enhance awareness about problem gambling, its trends, the methods of treating addiction and the training opportunities available for service professionals and educators.

The council was set up in August 2005 by the Government to tackle social problems linked to gambling ahead of the 2010 opening of the two mega integrated resorts here, which will include casinos.

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