Gambling Addiction

Up to 90% of adults in Australia have gambled at some point in their life.more statistics The promises made, were lies, and the same errors relapsed over and over again.We will be waiting when you can tell yourself there’s so much more to life than just gambling.We will be waiting for you gamblers to take a step back and think about the love ones whom you are destroying, but when will this happen? and will it not re- occur?. We now so well the difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling, which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, their family or friends and for the community. The latest research suggests that about one per cent of the population has a gambling problem. These ranges from increasing levels of debt,

“Current estimates suggest that three percent of the adult population will experience a serious problem with gambling that will result in significant debt, family disruption, job losses, criminal activity or suicide. Pathological gambling affects the gamblers, their families, their employers and the community. As the gamblers go through the phases of their addiction, they spend less

Each day, casinos are packed with gamblers. Whether it’s playing slot machines, table games, or betting on horse races, everyone is on a money mission. For some people, the love of casinos comes from the thrill of risk-taking, for others, it simply comes from wanting to have fun and enjoy themselves. While this all sounds like fun and games, it can wind up being extremely dangerous. Gambling addictions can develop quickly and when they do, everyone suffers except for casino corporations. Whether it be physical, mental, marital, or financial, there are numerous problems that accompany gambling addictions.

There is no specific treatment option that is more beneficial. However, there are a variety of treatment options available for gambling addiction such as Gambler’s Anonymous, which is a support group and psychotherapy that involves cognitive behavioral therapy. Family therapy or group meetings with professional counselors can assist family members. In addition, there is the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network and Gamblers Anonymous that help love ones with their gambling problems (www.casino.org). The medication that is used to treat compulsive gambling is antidepressants and mood stabilizers (www.mayoclinic).

There are many different forms of gambling. Whether one is betting on a lottery ticket, a horse race, a sports game, or slot machines, to name a few, they are spending money with unfavourable odds of winning that money back. Many people cannot control when they walk away from gambling, as they will continue to bet in an attempt to win back the lost money. The issue is - for the most part - that the losses continue to increase. In Victoria, in the fiscal year of 2000-01, gamblers lost a total of $14.38 billion, including $2.36 billion on the leading cause of losses, poker machines (11). This can result in problem gambling. Based on different surveys in Canada, it is estimated that approximately 1 in 20 Canadians either have a gambling problem, or are at serious risk of obtaining one. 1 in 20 Canadians adds up to 760,800 problem gamblers (12). In the US, an estimated 3 million people are problem gamblers, and another 15 million are at risk of developing gambling problems (13). Problem gambling would not be as severe of an issue if it only harmed the gambler themselves, as it is their choice to gamble and displays a only a lack of self control. The issue is that people are indirectly affected by problem gambling. It can result in problems with personal relationships, neglect of ones family, bankruptcy, and stress related disorders such as depression, or insomnia (14). Problem gambling also has a positive correlation with crime. This means that the more problem gamblers there are, the more crimes are being committed. Statistics from a published survey show that only 3.3% of responsible, low frequency gamblers have been convicted of committing a crime, while a staggering 28.3% of problem gamblers have been convicted at least once (15). These numbers show that problem gamblers do not only harm themselves, but the consequences have a continuous ripple effect,

This study was done on 150 people seeking treatment for drug problems, and found that 32 of the participants were pathological gamblers, 19 were problem gamblers, and the remaining 96 were social gamblers. Among the studied pathological gamblers, 56.3% were seeking treatment for cocaine use, and 25% were seeking treatment for alcohol. One of the prevalent findings in this study was the rate of suicidal thoughts or actions; 26 out of the 32 pathological gamblers (81.3%) had reported serious thoughts of suicide, and 12 (37.5%) had actually attempted suicide at least once. It was also found that, on average, most of the pathological gamblers started gambling before they started using

Data also indicates high levels of suicidality, with 25% of pathological gamblers in England reporting a suicide attempt in their lifetime, and 20% describing past-year ideation [4]. Adverse consequences extend beyond the individual, and include impacts on families through debt, relationship dysfunction [9] and domestic violence (DV). A recent evidence synthesis [10] suggests 37% of pathological gamblers report DV perpetration (38% report victimisation), and rates of gambling disorders in perpetrator samples that are also high (11%). In the UK, gambling problems predict overuse of NHS services including primary care (2-fold increase relative to no problems), hospital inpatient care (5-fold increase), and psychological counselling (8-fold increase) [4]. Notwithstanding these public health impacts, and overrepresentation in health care services, there is limited awareness of gambling problems and low levels of identification in these contexts. In the context of increased gambling participation and public health consequences [11], [12], there is strong need for initiatives to minimise excessive gambling and related harms. These initiatives include provision of psychological treatments with demonstrated efficacy

Gambling is all around the United States, and it can be a dangerous game for families. Many casino’s find gambling as a profit for their Company, since many people from around the United States will come to their casino and try to win it big with their own money. Gambling has been around for many years and a statement made by Worldcasinodirectory.com, stated “To begin with, gambling did not originate in the US- it came to this country with immigrants from Europe, Asia- especially China, and other parts of the world.” The United States was just another victim of an ongoing addiction. By, understanding how gambling reached the borders of The United States, how a notorious gang leader started the empire of gambling, and how an addiction pushes people to their limits, can help understand how gambling has become such a demanding element in a society.

“The state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene conducted a study before the first Maryland casino opened in 2010, and published it in 2011. They found that nearly 90 percent of Marylanders had gambled, and that 3.4 percent were either pathological gamblers or problem gamblers.” (Massimo) There has been numerous stories of addicted gamblers in debt, gamblers that have lost family and friends from their addictions. There was a man $400,000 in debt, his wife threw him out of the house and told him he could not see his kids again unless he gave up gambling. Also, another gambler went on a 48 hour binge without sleeping and barely eating. A woman faced a jail term for stealing $135,000 to feed her gambling

A pathological addiction is a strong habit or compulsion that continues regardless of the obvious harmful consequences, like pathological gambling or PG. PG has gained increased global attention from clinicians and researchers over the past few decades, due to expanding gambling opportunities. About 0.2% to 5.3% of adults worldwide are affected by gambling disorders (Jazaeri & Habil, 2012). There are various distinct treatments that have been favorably evaluated, such as cognitive behavioral and brief treatment models and pharmacological interventions. Gambling disorders are comorbid, normally seen with other mental health and substance use disorders. As of today, many authors have noted that is

“Pathological gambling is excessive risk taking exaggerated to an especially destructive extreme.” This is the way Dr. Ted and Brad Klontz open their chapter on the destructive behavior that is gambling (Klontz, B., & Klontz, T, 2009). As the authors describe gambling is a habit that becomes like a drug as people, mostly men, continue to gamble to make themselves feel better about themselves or to escape their present reality. The biggest danger of this disorder is that it is one that people try to hide from others the most, and are very hesitant to admit that their gambling is an addiction.

Gambling is an entertainment that we all know about, and it is also well known by the “easy-addicted characteristic”. You must have seen or at least heard about some stories that is about gambling. No matter it’s a story about people become rich, or a family be ruined. “The National Council on

Addictions come in different forms for instance, there are behavioral addiction and substance addictions. Both of these addictions are similar and have some of the same results. For someone who has a substance addiction they can not control themselves from consuming whatever drug they are addicted to, if they did try and stop their body could relapse, or they become could become ill. Behavioral addictions in some cases can be just as severe. For instance Gambling is a behavior that can become very addictive, and lead to many problems if one lets it. Gambling is still a topic that has not been studied enough, the research available on it is very limited. However, when abused gambling is a serious behavioral addiction and the more research that

Gambling, whether for life or money, is risky and success is not guaranteed, even if you ‘win’. Two different tales both involving risk.

     Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our