History

The fellowship of Gamblers Anonymous is the outgrowth of a chance meeting between two men during the month of January in 1957.  These men had a truly baffling history of trouble and misery due to an obsession to gamble.  They began to meet regularly and as the months passed neither had returned to gambling.

They concluded from their discussions that in order to prevent a relapse it was necessary to being about certain character changes within themselves.  In order to accomplish this, they used for a guide certain spiritual principles which had been utilized by thousands of people who were recovering from other compulsive addictions.  The word spiritual can be said to describe those characteristics of the human mind that represent the highest and finest qualities such as kindness, generosity, honesty and humility.  Also, in order to maintain their own abstinence they felt that it was vitally important that they carry the message of hope to other compulsive gamblers.

As a result of favorable publicity by a prominent newspaper columnist and TV commentator, the first group meeting of Gamblers Anonymous was held on Friday, September 13, 1957, in Los Angeles, California.  Since that time, the fellowship has grown steadily and groups are flourishing throughout the world.

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