Gambling Bad
Gambling is bad for society as a whole and should be unlawful because of the negative impact it places on individuals and family units. Loss of needed monies for basic survival, and the influx of the criminal element that is associated with gambling is a societal issue that uses tremendous amounts of resources unnecessarily. Casino gambling harms families, exploits the poor and financially desperate, worsens state budgets, raises crime, and deceives the public. Gambling creates social and economic costs that ruin lives, families, businesses, and communities. But gambling operators don’t pay for the harms they cause families, businesses, and communities. Gamblers are probably the most superstitious people in the world and they will do anything to improve their chances of winning. Whether it is carrying a lucky charm or performing some sort of ritual before or during their gambling sessions; anything to influence lady luck to smile on them. Rates of gambling addiction for criminal offenders far exceed rates found among non-offenders. On average, an estimated 50 percent of those affected by gambling problems commit crimes in order to support their addiction. College Gambling. Gambling addiction statistics show people between the ages 20 and 30 have the highest rates of problem.
Gaming when illegal is called gambling. This is the most crude and layman definition of the vice which involves wagering of money or something of material value. When talking about history, ancient tales of Gambler’s lament and Mahabharata testifies to the popularity of gambling among kings and princes. Hence the dating cannot be done. But this is known for sure that religious authorities generally disapproved of gambling. Arthashahstra recommended taxation and control of gambling, ancient Jewish authorities disqualified professional gamblers from appearing in the courts, some Islamic nations prohibit it. It has been seen that gambling has social consequences and is at the receiving end of flak from most of the nations. Then why do we find an increased rate of addiction to this social evil. What is in it that is so appealing to the masses. The answer is the monetary gains. When we are acquainted with such ways of earning quick money we seldom turn our backs. But one must not forget the popular law, “action and reaction exist in pairs”. The reactions are hereby given.
10. At a loss
An unsuccessful gambler is often at a loss of money and sleep. He is restless and this urges him to resort to more gambling to recuperate the losses. What about a successful gambler then? Can we say it in Toto about his success rates? Everyone among us is not an MIT graduate who knows his game with numbers and algorithms. Be it a person in need for money or elite people of the society, no one welcomes loss. The stress related to these losses can hamper one’s health and ultimately one’s life. In Michael Jordan’s own words, I want people to understand, gambling is not a bad thing if you do it within the framework of what’s meant to be, which is fun and entertaining.
9. Exposure
Don’t the children learn pretty quickly? But don’t expect them to learn the good always. Researchers argue that now a day’s children below 18 gamble increasingly. Gambling exists in much forms-racing, bingo, card games, dice games, lottery, slots and horse betting. Increased accessibility to internet has coined a new form of gambling-internet gambling. Among other drawbacks of internet this too has its repercussions. Since youth are inquisitive and often at a need for answers, they are more likely to develop problems related to gambling than adults.
8. Isolation
“I can’t face this mess alone, but am I not a loser who will not be helped?” Have you often heard such words from gamblers? Are they considered lonely or the society is too harsh on them? Does your spouse blame you for the financial bankruptcy, threatening to leave you? If you have an answer to these questions and going through a similar mental state, then it is high time to realize the emotional problem related to gambling. Family members may avoid a gambler for he embarrasses them. Your partner might develop strong feelings against you. This makes it hard for people to get love and support. They feel isolated and suffer like a loner.
7. Impact on children
What is it that you smoke? Is not it bad for your health? My teacher says so. Please stop gambling. If you aren’t all ears to these queries, you will soon lose on your children. Children often feel forgotten, depressed and angry when they see their parents or one of them has a gambling problem. This rushes them into taking sides between their parents. This is a serious problem as it concerns the fragile mental behavior of the children. There have been cases when they stop trusting their parents seeing their addiction. It is true they follow the elders but when their ideals go berserk, it comes as a setback. They may lose their trust and start misbehaving, feeling down in the dumps.
6. Fights and abuses
When nations are in crisis, they wage wars; families create violence. Gambling instills remorse among the people when they lose the game. Many feel all the more stressed, anxious and depressed. Above all of it, if his family starts to think of him as a gangrenous limb to be removed, would not he be angered and aggressive. Gambling problems lead to physical and emotional abuse of a partner or child. Researches show that 25-50% of spouses of compulsive gamblers have been abused. Among them some have been physically and verbally abused and some have even attempted to suicide as a result of it. A medical school in Nebraska found that gambling is as much a risk for violence as alcohol abuse. One can always look up for the research reports online.
5. Suicide risk
The most likely people who commit suicide are the ones prone to heavy alcohol, drugs or similar addiction. On the other hand some who have threatened suicide or hurt themselves in the past are also at risk. It would be obvious to state the reasons for depression and such terminal steps. Loss of money, alienation from family and spouse, child abuse, damage to self-dignity- who wouldn’t be crestfallen.
4. Impediment to career
A student will skip classes; forget to study his lessons just because he is somewhere busy stacking cards or bidding online. An employee will show up less at his office and his performance will drop. Of course one is not anti-gambling. You may even question, if someone is alcoholic, alcohol should be banned then. The point here is not to make this problem everyone else’s but to make them aware of the implications this vice can have on your career; for it will be harder to come back to the real world now, because time has already passed by.
3. Fraud and double standards
Legalized gambling is the fastest growing industry in the world and can have drastic influence on state government, one is being corruption. Till date there have been numerous news reports of corruption and fraud in state lotteries. Evidence shows that the poor and the disadvantaged are its easy targets. Let us not get into the political sphere of this huge gambling business because people love to earn quick and spend lavish. At times like this, it is either self-motivation or family interference which can pull us out of this deep pitch. No doubt legalized gambling is a bad social policy but it is better to stay mum on such sensitive issues.
2. Bleeding account
Know an interesting fact? The average compulsive gambler has debts exceeding $80,000. If unlucky, they end up hassling with loan sharks who would go after their lives if they don’t pay. Feel the crunch the person might be undergoing, marital disharmony, divorce, substance abuse. If we try to find a link between the increased crime rate and gambling, chances are we will get success. Embezzlement, theft and involvement in organized crime are some hideaway means for potential gamblers. Your bank account will run dry if you don’t monitor your recreational options.
1. Problem gambling
When gambling becomes problematic and there is a plausibility of difficulties, it becomes problem gambling. Ludo mania as is commonly referred is a mental state of excessive gambling without an urge to stop. So grave is this problem, that it is diagnosed as clinical pathological gambling. It might be difficult to accept but people dealing with this addiction can suffer from depression, migraine, distress, intestinal disorders and other anxiety related problems. Now that is something to mull over as gambling is becoming more prevalent throughout the world. A problem gambler gambles as frequently as he will take a tranquilizer, a drug, or have a cup of coffee. It becomes an addiction; the person will wish to experience the emotional affect same as before. It can disrupt your physiological, personal and professional life to a grave extent. The solution may not lie in banning and imposing strict laws on legalized gambling but since it is causing negative impacts on one’s individual life, it needs to be curbed.
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.
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:
Gambling Bad Beat
- 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.
Gambling Bad Beats
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.
Gambling Bad In The Bible
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.