Gambling is a behavior in which a person stakes something of value (such as money or items of value) on the outcome of an event based on chance. Historically, the risk involved in gambling has been seen as immoral and largely illegal, although attitudes towards gambling have softened over time, and it is now recognized as an impulse control disorder in current psychiatric manuals (American Psychiatric Association 2000).
While the vast majority of people participate in some form of gambling, some engage in excessive and harmful gambling behaviors that may be categorized as pathological gambling. These individuals exhibit five or more of the following symptoms: (1) gambling causes distressing feelings (e.g., guilt, anxiety, depression); (2) the person continually returns to gamble even after losing money in order to try to win it back (“chasing losses”); (3) the person lies to family members or therapists in an attempt to conceal the extent of their involvement with gambling; and (4) the person jeopardizes a relationship, job, educational or career opportunity or relies on others for financial support because of his or her involvement with gambling.
It’s important to understand what gambling is so that you can help the people in your life who have a problem. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you with licensed, accredited therapists who can help. Take the assessment, and you could be matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours.