Problem Gambling
The word gambling comes with a lot of extrapolation. The glaring casinos, perky slot-machines, the risk, the adventure, the winning stake, blood pumping, heart throbbing beaconing of money – it’s just another world in the world. Different people visit casinos for different reasons. Some want to learn how to play to get the hang of it; some go there for the sake of mere entertainment; the pros go to win the stake and may be expecting a big one. Whatever the reason is, if the occasional visit turns into frequency and gradually regularity, there starts the problem. As every coin has its two sides, the darker side of the gambling world is often overshadowed in the seductive and alluring razzmatazz. And, people who cannot control the hormonal flux often fall prey to be succumbed to the – addiction.
Likewise gambling, some people may fall to different addiction; drug, alcohol, sex, food, and like that. Addiction is actually an obsession, a compulsive desire that need to be fulfilled. When a person becomes an addictive player from a gambler, he has already crossed the line between a pleasurable experience and a destructive craving.
Gamblers Anonymous, a self-help group for the compulsive gamblers has listed 20 questions that can divulge whether a person is a gambling addict. Following is an excerpt:
- Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
- Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
- Did gambling affect your reputation?
- Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
- Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
- Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
- After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
