Gambling Addiction

859 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Positive and negative effects of gambling

Gambling addiction has become very real, very quick, to me and my friends and family. My best friend’s mother, Beverly Roan, is currently incarcerated at Sandy Mush Correctional Facility in Merced, California after allegedly embezzling over $350,000.00 from her employer to fund her gambling addiction. Beverly is a 58 year old mother of three, and grandmother of eight; no one ever suspected this level of addiction or criminal activity based on our daily interactions with her. We were shocked and appalled when she was arrested at her work back in February. We were completely unaware that her penchant for going to Chukchansi to play the slot machines had evolved into a full-fledged gambling addiction. Pathological gambling has become a devastating mental illness plaguing millions of Americans.

Compulsive gambling is considered to be a type of impulse-control disorder. Even when the addict is aware that their addiction is negatively affecting their life, they cannot stop the impulse to gamble regardless of the consequences. The mental health community distinguishes between problem gambling and gambling addiction. Problem gambling is any gambling behavior that affects your life. Gambling addiction is where the person is unable to resist the impulse to gamble. The must gamble regardless of the consequences. A common myth is that problem gamblers have to gamble every day. When in reality it can be either frequent or infrequent. It is normally cyclic. Where there are periods of gambling, followed by rest periods and then back to gambling. People can go for months without gambling and still be considered to have a gambling addiction (Saison).

Another myth associated with gambling is that it’s a mental disorder for men, ...

... middle of paper ...

...r mother at this time. This is forcing her to get the help she so desperately needs. I would encourage anyone who thinks they might possibly have a gambling problem to seek help immediately, don’t wait until it’s too late.

Works Cited

Dryden-Edwards, MD, Roxanne. "Gambling Addiction Statistics, Treatment, Disorder Facts, Causes and Symptoms by MedicineNet.com." MedicineNet. Ed. William C. Chiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR. Web. 12 May 2011. .

"Gamblers Anonymous: Q and A." Gamblers Anonymous Official Home Page. Web. 12 May 2011. .

"Gambling Addiction and Problem Gambling: Signs, Help, and Treatment." Helpguide.org: Expert, Ad-free Articles Help Empower You with Knowledge, Support & Hope. Web. 12 May 2011. .

Show More
Related

  • The Power Of Habit Charles Duhigg Analysis

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    Addiction is something that may seem inevitable, but at the end it’s entirely the fault of a person who is addicted. In the article, “the power of habit” by Charles Duhigg, it states how Angie Bachmann became addicted to gambling and how it was entirely her fault because she kept accepting the offers from casinos and many other reasons. Both the casino and Angie knew what they were doing by Angie letting herself get into the situation and the casino encouraging it. She started out as a well-settled housewife. When everybody left the house, she ended up all alone without having much to do. Because of this, one day, as she was passing through the streets, she decided to visit a casino for a change. “She knew gambling could lead to trouble, so

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Gambling In Texas

    709 Words  | 2 Pages

    Expanding gambling can increase gambling addiction. Compulsive gambling addiction is a social issue that is related to gambling. In the past, compulsive gambling was thought of as an issue or behavior for adults. However, “today’s youth are the first generation to grow up in a society where gambling is legal, easily accessible, and in most cases government supported” (Monaghan & Derevensky 537). Gambling is often advertised in the media as a quick and easy way to “get rich” and is rarely seen

    Read More

  • Gambling in Australia

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ble (Moore, Thomas, Kale, Spence, Zlatevska, Staiger, Graffam, & Kyrios, 2013). These factors may have set off motivators to gambling continuously. Other circumstances might have been involving in gambling environment at young age (Fabiansson, 2006), having finance problems, or being pursued by others people to gambling. Addicted to gambling has a negative outcomes which usually happen to people who think that they can stop gambling if they lose.

    Read More

  • A Gamble on Texas

    512 Words  | 2 Pages

    Casino gambling is an increasingly popular and legal activity in many states throughout America. “The term gambling or ‘gaming’ as the industry calls it, means any legalized form of wagering or betting conducted in a casino, on a riverboat, on an Indian reservation, or at any other location under the jurisdiction of the United States” (National Gambling Impact Study

    Read More

  • Angie Bachmann's Article: The Power Of Addiction

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    Addiction is something that may seem inevitable but at the end it’s entirely the fault of a person who is addicted. In the article by Charles Duhigg ‘the power of habit’ Angie Bachmann got addicted to gambling, it was because of her fault as she kept accepting the offers from cassino and many other reasons.. Both knew what they were doing but still Angie let herself get into the situation, and the casino encouraged it. She was a well settled housewife, when everybody used to leave the house she was all alone. One fine day, while passing through the street she took a visit to casino just for a change. “She knew gambling could lead to trouble, so she set strict rules for herself. No more than one hour at the blackjack table per trip.” (pg 247,

    Read More

  • Gambling: Changing Lives

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gambling... Who does not like to gamble? People play lotteries, bet on sport games or try their luck on slot machines with a thought to win some amount of money. In fact, this excitement for gambling can be seen even from early ages; for example, ancient Egyptians used to play dice in 2000 BC or the first casinos opened their doors to customers during the Greeco-Roman period ( Whittaker and Cushman 1 ). Nowadays casino industry is a large business in the United States that brings high revenues and offers various entertainment that attracts people from different areas. So just recently residents and visitors of Worcester, Wicomico and surrounding counties got a great opportunity to try themselves in a new Ocean Downs casino that came into operation couple months ago. Ocean Downs casino is an excellent benefit to the community that helps to improve the economic and social status of the county and also serves as a great entertainment for the adult population.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Article 'The Power Of Habit'

    1765 Words  | 4 Pages

    The article, “The Power of Habit” (chapter 9), by Charles Duhigg, is about Angie Bachmann who was addicted to gambling. It all started one day when she felt so lonely that she decided to go out and play in the nearest casino. Angie started by setting rules just so she would not become addicted. As days went by Angie slowly started to break her rules and gambled more than what she should of have. Angie lost a lot of money. Although, Harrah’s casino would send her free stuff and vacation trips to get Angie to play more. Angie realized that she had a problem with gambling and went away for a time, but she went back to Harrah’s casino when her parents inherit her money. Angie lost all the money that she inherited and started to get loans

    Read More

  • High Stakes

    441 Words  | 1 Pages

    Presently, America is experiencing a gambling boom. Everywhere you look there’s at least one advertisement involving gambling. Whether it’s a new Las Vegas hotel or a one-dollar scratcher, it seems to catch people’s eyes. Although it may look like a lot of glam and hype, there’s a dark side to the gambling industry, one people overlook the harsh consequences of.

    Read More

  • Angie Bachmann Addiction

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    The casino would call her to go play for them and she would go because she already had her routine of going everyday. She is fully responsible for her action towards her gambling addiction and destroying her life because she made a bad habit. Bachmann knew that her gambling addiction can lead into trouble and she set rules for herself . For example, “Protecting people from their bad habits in fact, defining which habits' should be considered "bad" in the first place is a prerogative lawmakers have eagerly seized’’(qtd in Duhigg). This explains that protecting people from their habits is bad and can lead them into a consequences in their life. People have similar problem with gambling in their life as well with Angie Bachmann . They can’t stop gambling in their life because once the person has a addiction in playing games at casino and the person gets a habit where it starts growing to them in their

    Read More

  • Gambling: Pros and Cons

    535 Words  | 2 Pages

    Gambling has been around since 2300 B.C. It has its positive and negative effects; it also has somewhat of a positive impact on the economy. It stimulates most communities by creating jobs and generates tax revenue for state and local governments. The gambling industry in “2002 and the commercial casino industry provided 350,000 jobs in the United States” (americangaming.org). Even though gambling can bring a lot of economic growth to the economy there is still an argument going on today whether it is a great choice to legalize it everywhere.

    Read More

  • Gambling and its Effects

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    The adrenaline-rushing feeling of gambling offers people the idea that opportunity lies within their hands. Unfortunately, there are far too many consequences to gambling to even begin to count. To win you must play, and to win big you must play big. As more gamblers can recall their losses rather than their winnings, gamblers are often dealt with poor hands and must play the risky game to stay alive. Even though gambling has so many faults, some still fall under its corruptions because of gambling’s deceiving fallacies.

    Read More

  • Morality And Ethics: Ethical Issues Of Gambling

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    As previously mentioned, the issue at the center of the controversy or debate is morality or ethics. Morality or ethics has been at the heart of controversies regarding gambling because some people consider it as unethical. The consideration of gambling as an immoral act is largely attributed to religious beliefs and stigma of obtaining money relatively for nothing. Moreover, the ethical dilemmas and concerns associated with gambling is brought by the emergence of problem gamblers who account for nearly 2.1 percent of total number of gamblers (Kannon, 2012). Therefore, ethical concerns and dilemmas in gambling are fueled by the inherently sinful attitude about the activities, which generate a classical ethical problem from an individual level

    Read More

  • Gambling Addiction

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 government has sought out a few solutions that help those who have developed an addiction and prevent a further increase in the number of people becoming addicted. Personally, my outlook on the problem is that it needs a better solution. I think that a higher funding to gambling addiction clinics, more ordinance and restriction laws, and more prevention and awareness programs should bee brought into consideration in order to lower the amount of people who become addict to gambling.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Gambling

    1978 Words  | 4 Pages

    As individuals, we are responsible for ourselves, including the decisions we make. However, with the temptations of making “easy money” and the dreams of hitting that million-dollar jackpot, these decisions make it hard for individuals to resist, which traps them into making poor decisions. With today’s economy, individuals are susceptible to mounting pressures from finances, work and a fast paced lifestyle. Even though these are everyday factors in our lives, they contribute to our stress level. Many times it is drugs or alcohol that individuals turn to, but there is also another very addicting behavior that many people turn to, gambling. There has been a rise in pathological gambling in the past 10 years and it is only increasing. With this fact, gambling is only banned in two states in the whole United States of America. What are the problems associated with pathological gambling and is the government and casinos acting ethically by propagating such an addicting act?

    Read More

  • Casinos In The Casino Industry

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    Prior to the late 1980’s, casino gambling was legal on in state of Nevada and Atlantic City, New Jersey (Garnnet 9). Today, casino gambling is accessible in twenty-nine states. As an outcome to this annual gambling revenue has tremendously grown from nine billion in 1991 to...

    Read More

More about Gambling Addiction

Open Document