For most people, gambling is something to be enjoyed. It is a way of having fun on occasion and is never anything more serious than the odd bet on the horses or a football accumulator. For others, the extent of their gambling is to play a line or two on the lottery each week. However, there are those for whom gambling becomes a major problem. It develops into an obsession that takes over their life. Every spare moment is spent either engaging in gambling or thinking about doing so.

1. Why Is Gambling Bad For Your Health
2. Is Gambling Bad If You Win

A person who is a compulsive gambler will make bets on the weather, the sex of an unborn child, the next person to call them, and just about anything that is unknown to them from one moment to the next. Life itself may become, for them, an opportunity to place a wager. What is Problem Gambling? If you are gambling, you are trying to win money that comes from other people who most loss money. Gambling places make a living off of other people desiring for money, so gambling is an outward manifestation of an inward greed. A love of money as Paul said, leads to the ruin of many.

When you consider the impact that this activity has on daily life, it is easy to understand why gambling addiction is bad for health, relationships, and finances.

The Rise of Gambling Addictions

While most people’s initial thoughts turn to substances such as drugs or alcohol when they think about the term ‘addiction’, gambling addiction is actually a big problem here in the UK. Furthermore, it is one that seems to be growing year on year.

There are many reasons for this. A lot has to do with the fact that gambling has become much more accessible. Online gambling has made it easy for anyone to gamble from the comfort of their own home. With gambling sites offering free bets to entice new members, it is not difficult to see why more and more people are choosing to try their hand at winning a life-changing amount of money.

The trouble is, very few people actually do win these life-changing amounts. Indeed, most will spend a small fortune trying to secure that elusive win, particularly those who develop crippling gambling habits.

Another reason for the rise in gambling addiction is the presence of fixed odds betting terminals, or FOBTs as they are more commonly known, in almost every betting shop in the country. Each betting shop is permitted to have four of these machines; machines that have now been dubbed ‘the crack cocaine of gambling’.

Although there are plans to reduce the maximum stake per bet, these machines have until now been set at a maximum of £100 per spin. And because they are capable of spinning three times per minute, a gambler could lose £1500 in just five minutes. Moreover, because these machines are designed to be addictive, campaigners say they are preying on society’s most vulnerable.

The Impact of a Gambling Addiction

It is important to look at why gambling addiction is bad for individuals, their family, and society in general when considering the impact that it has. As you might well imagine, gambling can have terrible consequences for the affected individual.

Many people who find themselves hooked on gambling will become trapped in a desperate cycle of gambling and trying to find ways of funding their habit. As this activity requires a constant source of cash, it can be difficult to keep on top of things and so many individuals start borrowing from credit card companies or getting loans. When they run out of options in terms of securing finance, they might start borrowing from friends or family or even start stealing from loved ones.

All this can potentially have a detrimental impact on many areas of the person’s life. Most gamblers will try to hide what they are doing from friends and family until they are in a desperate situation. Family members often do not realise the extent of a loved one’s problems until it is at a critical stage. Some gamblers suffer greatly with mental health issues and are under immense stress as they try to keep their illness a secret.

Gambling also has a strong link with criminal activity. When desperation sets in, some individuals will take extreme measures in a bid to rectify their situation. They might believe that by ‘borrowing’ money from their employer and gambling it, for example, they will be able to win it all back – and then some. They are incapable of thinking clearly because of how the addiction has altered the functioning of various areas of their brain and are strongly convinced that their actions will have a positive outcome.

What usually happens though is that they lose the money they have stolen and find themselves in an even worse situation. Many will plunge on regardless, finding themselves entrenched deeper and deeper in their hole until they can see no way out. Many will end up suicidal and instead of reaching out will take their own life, leaving family members and friends devastated.

Others will get caught before they can replace the money they have stolen and will be prosecuted for fraud, subsequently finding themselves in a terrible situation. This will again leave their loved ones distraught and themselves possibly looking at time behind bars.

With all this in mind, it is clear to see why gambling addiction is bad for health, relationships, and finances.

Do You Have a Gambling Addiction?

A gambling addiction is like any other addiction in that it does not occur overnight. Perhaps you once found pleasure in gambling but had full control over when and how much you gambled. You could probably have gambled every now and then and then not thought about it from one bet to the next.

However, as time went by, your gambling might have become more frequent and you may have started to spend more money when you gambled to increase the thrill. If this sounds familiar to your situation, it could be the case that you already have a problem. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you spend a lot of time gambling or thinking about gambling?
• Do you spend more on gambling than you can afford to lose?
• Have you increased the amount of money you spend on gambling to achieve the same level of excitement?
• Do you try to chase your losses but end up losing even more money?
• Have you started borrowing money or selling your items to fund your gambling?
• Do you try to hide your gambling from loved ones?
• Have you begun neglecting your responsibilities at home or at work?
• Have your loved ones suggested you might have a gambling problem?
• Do you feel guilty or ashamed when you gamble?
• Is your gambling causing you to feel unhappy, stressed or anxious?
• Are you struggling financially because of your gambling?

If you have answered yes to more than two of the above questions, then it is highly likely you have a problem and will need to seek professional help to get control of your life. Reaching out for help now means preventing your situation from deteriorating even further.

Help for a Gambling Addiction

A gambling addiction is a treatable condition, and you should know that you are not alone; you do not have to continue suffering in silence. If you want to regain control of your life once more, it is important to take action as soon as possible.

You may need a programme of inpatient treatment so that you can leave daily life behind for a few weeks and move into a facility where you will have no access to any form of gambling. This type of treatment is recommended if your addiction is severe.

A rehab programme in a residential facility will mean that you are removed from temptation, allowing you to focus on recovery without any distractions. Your days will be filled with therapy and treatments designed to uncover the reasons for your addiction while providing you with the skills required to avoid a return of your illness in the future.

Talking therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are often used to help change your addictive behaviour. During CBT sessions, you will be helped to identify the negative thought patterns that may have been the catalyst for your maladaptive behaviour. By learning how to challenge your thoughts and by learning how to use positive alternatives to your negative behaviour, you can overcome your gambling addiction.

You will learn why gambling addiction is bad for not only yourself but also those around you. Your family may also benefit from taking part in therapy sessions to help them deal with the aftermath of the addiction. Family therapy can help family members address any issues they are dealing with because of your addiction, but this type of treatment can also be used to deal with potential underlying causes of your illness such as family conflict or abuse.

For more information on how to overcome your gambling addiction, please get in touch with us here at Liberty House Clinic. We treat all types of addiction in a friendly and supportive environment and have a team of fully trained professionals with experience and knowledge to ensure you get the most from your programme. Call us today for more information about how to beat a gambling addiction once and for all.

So, after all of that, is gambling immoral?

That is a tough question to answer. It really depends on the situation and the person. For instance, imagine a man who is visiting Las Vegas for the first time. He has set down a limit of $1000 for gambling. That is the full amount he plans on gambling away for entertainment purposes. He sits down to play some blackjack. Over time he loses quite a bit of his money, but he feels he’s learning the system. He swears there is a way to beat this. So he finishes off his $1000 and gets more from the ATM.

He ends up gambling away the $1000 plus the $10,000 he and his wife had saved up. Then he takes out a second mortgage trying to recoup the $11,000 and ends up losing another $100,000. Gambling is addictive. In this case, it was quite immoral for the man to keep gambling.

Why Is Gambling Bad For Your Health

Now, imagine the same man stopped at $1000. He had some fun but he knows his limits. If the amount set aside for gambling entertainment is not surpassed, is the gambling immoral? Or is it just another form of innocent entertainment that hurts no one?

“But religion has a problem with gambling. They believe that it is an empty way of stealing money that provides no value.”

What do you say to that?

It depends on your definitions of value and stealing. To play devil’s advocate, let’s consider the concept of stealing. Stealing is taking money from a person unwilling to give it up. There are people who say that the loser of a bet is a person unwilling to give up the money. And that may be true. But they were a willing participant in the betting when they thought they would win the money. So is it really stealing?

As for the value, who knows what kind of value any given person places on the entertainment value of gambling. The man who gambled away $1000 may have had so much fun doing it that it was worth the money to do so. What if gambling takes away his stress? But if you are a person who finds no entertainment in gambling and it does no good for you, then sure, there is no value in it, and it would beg the question of why are you gambling in the first place if there is no value for you?

So should I gamble or not?

That is up to you….

Are you worried about your religion looking at you as a sinful person for gambling? Then you probably shouldn’t. If your religion is fine with gambling, then feel free to do so responsibly.

Are you down to your last penny? Then no, gambling is not good for you. Think about it this way: If you can’t afford to take your family to see a movie, then you probably can’t afford to gamble.

Do you have an addictive personality? Then, no. Gambling can be very addictive. As with anything else, excessive gambling can be bad for you. You can lose all of your money. And, as the Chinese say, too much gambling can drive you crazy.

Is Gambling Bad If You Win

Use common sense before gambling. Pick an amount of money you can afford to lose, because you will lose it. Stick with that number no matter what. Gamble for entertainment value only and only if you actually get entertained. Those are the ways to make sure that gambling is not only a perfectly moral activity, but also a way of keeping it as a form of fun instead of as a form of bankruptcy.