Gambling Problem

20 years ago the gambling world was nothing like it is today, it belonged to gamblers only. Today it is open to all, and you most defiantly don't have to go to Las Vegas in order to gamble, just a click of a mouse, and you are in the biggest casino there is - the internet. Addiction to gambling is not a new problem, but these days of awareness we are doing our best to investigate more and learn more about it.

"Gambling Problem" is when the gambling habit crosses the boundaries of fun and gaming, to the other side of compulsive and pathological. It is characterized by the need to bet more money, more frequently and not being able to stop.

Frequent Gambler

There are many people who enjoy gambling for the fun of it, and not for the win of it, but not everyone who gambles a lot is a pathological gambler. The pathological part is the one that doesn't take losing as an option and therefore gambles on amounts he can not afford to lose. Not all the Frequent Gamblers are pathological gamblers, so it is safe to say that it is not the amount but the approach.

The Signs

The signs are the usual addiction signs, and when I say "the usual" I mean the regular effect that any compulsive behavior has on a human being, such as: drifting away from family and friends, neglecting other areas in life like work, pressuring others for money and denying there is even a problem.

The first to Know

People, who have a gambling problem and want to hide it from their friends and family, are most likely to first blame the work place, which means that the first to notice the problem are the colleagues. The colleagues are the ones that see the problem in its first steps, before the individual becomes desperate and the compulsive behavior takes over him completely.

Getting Help

Gambling problem is a serious and dangerous addiction just like any other addiction, and most addicts can not even admit to themselves they have a problem. That is why the best company are people who experience (or experienced in the past) the same. There are many organizations that help addicts to handling this problem such as Helpline, counseling, treatment and community support groups.