Overview
of Compulsive Problematic Gambling
Problem
gambling is gambling behavior which causes disruptions
in any major area of life: psychological, physical, social
or vocational.
Compulsive
gambling, is a progressive addiction characterized by:
-
increasing preoccupation with gambling
-
a need to bet more money more frequently
- restlessness
or irritability when attempting to stop
- "chasing" losses
-
loss of control manifested by continuation of the gambling
behavior in spite of mounting, serious, negative consequences.
Gamblers
no longer need to trek to Las Vegas or Atlantic City
to find the action they crave. It is available today
almost everywhere.
Gambling
can be defined as playing a game of chance for stakes.
Gambling occurs in many forms,
-
most commonly pari-mutuels (horse and dog tracks, off-track-betting
- parlors, Jai Alai),
-
lotteries,
-
casinos (slot machines, table games),
-
bookmaking (sports books and horse books),
-
card rooms,
-
bingo and
-
the stock market.
What
pathological
gambling?
Pathological
gambling is a progressive disease that devastates not
only the gambler but everyone with whom he or she has
a significant relationship.
In 1980, the American Psychiatric
Association accepted pathological gambling as a "disorder
of impulse control."
It is an illness that is chronic
and progressive, but it can be diagnosed and treated.
Gambling
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