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COPYRIGHT 2005 Medquest Communications, LLC
It has never been easier for people to gamble legally, comfortably, and conveniently on a variety of games and events. Gambling is a growing and popular form of recreation in the United States. For most people, going to a casino, racetrack, or bingo hall, or buying a lottery ticket, is entertainment. Of course, not everyone who gambles develops a problem.
Unfortunately, for some people gambling becomes more than harmless entertainment. They spend more time thinking about gambling, they gamble much more often, and they gamble much more than they can afford to lose. Problem gambling can lead to financial ruin, legal problems, loss of career or family, or even suicide. Much like alcohol dependency, the need to gamble may become the most important activity in the life of someone who gambles excessively.
Pathological or compulsive gambling is a rapidly emerging health problem because of increased access to legal forms of gambling and new technologies such as the Internet, which allow for immediate access to gambling opportunities. This has resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of pathological gamblers, including women, seniors, and teenagers. Pathological gambling has been called the "hidden addiction" because it has no telltale physical signs of addictive behavior--e.g., needle marks, slurred speech, alcohol on the breath, or dilated pupils.
The Numbers
In 1998, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission found that 86% of Americans reported having gambled at least once in their lives; 68% of Americans reported having gambled in 1997. In the United States, gambling is a $550 billion industry, In 1998, people gambling in this country lost $50 billion in legal wagering. By 2003, the figure jumped to more than $72 billion. Gambling is legal in every state except Utah and Hawaii.
Harvard Medical School's Division on Addictions estimated in 1997 that there were 7.5 million American adult problem and pathological gamblers (5.3 million problem gamblers and 2.2 million pathological gamblers). For 1.5 to 4% of the population, gambling results in a addiction. People who live within 50 miles of a casino have twice as much risk of developing a gambling problem as those living farther away, according to the National Opinion Research Center. The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that one out of every five compulsive gamblers attempts suicide.
Defining "Pathological"
Gamblers Anonymous (GA) defines gambling as any betting or wagering for oneself or others, whether or not for money, no matter how slight or insignificant, in which the outcome is uncertain or depends on "skill" or "chance."
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) first included pathological gambling in the DSM-III in a 1980. APA classifies pathological gambling as an impulse-control disorder not elsewhere classified. The essential feature of pathological gambling is recurrent gambling behavior that is maladaptive. The DSM-IV pathological gambling diagnosis draws heavily on an analogy to drug and alcohol dependency, in that severity is measured by the degree to which the behavior leads to a serious interruption in an individual's life. These measures of severity for a diagnosis include five or more of the following symptoms:
* a preoccupation with gambling
* a need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve the desired excitement
* an inability to cut back
* withdrawal symptoms when attempting to stop
* using gambling as an escape
* chasing one's losses
* lying to family members about gambling
* committing illegal acts to finance gambling
* jeopardizing...
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