Online Casinos and Problem Gambling

An estimated 20 million people worldwide gamble online at internet casinos. In 2007, Americans (who were technically not allowed to use online gambling venues) spent $34 billion on gambling in bricks and mortar casinos, and that number does not include the amount spent at Native American casinos.

There is no question that visiting a casino or gambling online is an exciting activity. Most people play purely for entertainment, while some online gamblers take the necessary time to learn the skills required for games like the many variations of online poker with the aim of winning money (at least more often than they lose it). For many people, there is a definite “high” associated with risking money on games, and for a small subset of those people, gambling turns into a full-fledged addiction that can cost them their livelihood, their family, and their entire way of life.

Problem gambling can be thought of as a spectrum of problems. While some people do become seriously addicted, others sometimes get carried away in the thrill of betting, lose more money than they expected, and then stop when they realize the consequences of their actions. Others gamble when they are anxious or depressed, coping with life changes and trying to enjoy a temporary distraction from the problems in their lives.

Most people are able to keep their gambling under control by simple measures such as limiting their bankroll and practicing their own standards as to when to walk away after a certain level of loss (or gain, for that matter). But there are others for whom gambling shows signs of turning into an addiction. How can you tell if your online casino visits are no longer an entertaining diversion, but a real problem?

One serious red flag is when a person gambles to obtain money with which to solve financial problems, such as paying bills or debts. Borrowing money or selling important possessions to finance gambling is another strong indicator that a person’s gambling is out of control. If gambling causes a deterioration in a person or their family’s standard of living or general welfare, it’s a problem. And if a person does something illegal (or considers doing so) to fund gambling, that means gambling has gone well beyond being a form of entertainment.

Resources are readily available to those who think they may have an addiction to gambling. Counseling, peer-support groups, step-based programs, and even medications are used to treat problem gambling, though no medications have been approved specifically for treating pathological gambling in the US by the Food and Drug Administration. Gamblers Anonymous is a 12-step program for treating gambling problems patterned after the 12-step program used in Alcoholics Anonymous.

The bottom line is that with gambling addiction, as with any addiction, the addict has to admit he or she has a problem and choose to address it; the problem will not go away on its own. If you or a loved one has a problem with pathological gambling, then a good place to start is either with a local Gamblers Anonymous group (In the US, you can call 888-424-3577 toll free) or at gamblersanonymous.org.

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Gambling Addiction is a Waste of Money

In medical terms gambling addiction is termed as ludomania. This implies a person needs to gamble despite knowing the harmful consequences. Gambling addiction is a behavior which can affect most of the major aspects of life, for example it can affect you psychologically, physically and hamper your social life. Sometimes gambling addiction is referred as a hidden illness as you cannot see any physical symptoms. According to the American Psychological Association, addictive gambling is a mental health disorder and those affected have no control over it. Gambling addiction is a disease which is chronic and progressive. This means a person gets more and more addicted towards it every time he or she gets the opportunity to gamble. According to a survey about 4 percent of the American population has a gambling addiction.

According to Dr. Richard Rosenthal there are three criteria for a person to be listed down as a pathological gambler or a person affect with gambling addiction. An intolerable feeling or state, which is a person feeling helpless for no reason. Depression can be a reason; a person might get depressed due to problems at work place, problems with family, etc. Another criterion is when a person develops a high capacity for self-deception. When a gambler falls under these criteria, he is affected with gambling addiction. Gambling addiction is however classified into two types, action gambling and escape gambling.

Action gambling means a person is addicted to take risks, people falling under this category want to play with other gamblers, and they want to prove themselves as a winner in front of everyone. They want to identify themselves and create an image, they will continue gambling until and unless they reach the position. Escape gambling is where a person gambles because of the reason that they are affected with some personal matters. The person is having problems with emotional aspects in life or the person is not comfortable with life. People having escape gambling addiction usually play alone or they like to sit alone, they are rather found playing black jack or at slot machines. Escape gamblers just avoid human contact. It is found that men are more addicted towards action gambling and women are addicted towards escape gambling. It is also found that young people tend to have gambling addiction rather than adults. Teens are generally 3 times more likely to fall under gambling addiction. This is completely reversed in reference to other addictions where problems among adults are more prevalent than children.

Gambling addiction is a mental disorder having no impulse in controlling it but it is diagnosable and treatable. A very effective way to get treated is by the help of hypnosis. Hypnosis has a very high rate of success in healing people from gambling addiction. You can download mp3 versions available on the Internet. As soon as you are over with all the sessions of hypnosis you will no more be losing money at the casinos. You will be a winner and will set an example in front of everyone on how fast and easily you could get rid of gambling addiction.

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How To Avoid Debt Problems Due To Gambling

With the convenience of online gambling, people can play their favorite casino games and bet on sports online with computers and hand held devices through Internet from anywhere and at any time. Online gambling provides an alternative of betting games, but at the same time, it creates new debt problem. Gambling is a high addictive game that may cause those who don’t have money to gamble to find money from various channels, include using their credit cards and borrowing from illegal lenders. Many debtors worldwide are suffering the overwhelming debt due to gambling addiction. They put themselves and their families into a very difficult financial situation. You should not get yourself into this problem. Use below 4 tips below to prevent yourself from debt problem due to gambling.

1. Gambling is an entertainment, not a way to make money

Many gamblers try to make money from online gambling. Although it possible to earn money by betting online, and there are many professional gamblers make their living from online gambling, but generally, most gamblers who aim to make easy money from online betting failed and lose not only their hard-earned money, but the money borrowed from various channels that will become their debt if they can’t pay it later. This is how the debt problem begins.

If gambling is a hobby for you to fill your leisure times, it should be played as an entertainment, not a way to make easy money, unless you are a professional gambler.

2. Don’t play with the money you can’t afford to lose

Gambling is a high risk game and there is no way to guarantee the winnings. So, don’t risk your hard-earned money if it is needed to support your living and your family expenses. Moreover, you will easily become panic if you play with the money you can’t afford to lose. It will causes you lose more money because you may bet wildly without following a winning strategy when you hit the losing streaks, if the money you use to bet is the money you can’t afford to lose.

3. Get helps if you have detected the gambling addiction signs

If you find yourself always thinking of and want to logon to online casino to play the game and most of time you can’t control yourself for not logging to an online casino. It is a strong sign of gambling addiction. The convenient of online gambling makes harder to stop yourself not to gamble because you can always login to the casino or sportsbook at any time. If you have found yourself addicted on gambling, try to get helps as early as possible. Families and friends can be your initial approach to get helps. If you have deeply addicted, then you should go for professional consultation to get rid of the gambling addiction.

4. Cancelled credit cards and e-wallet accounts

Credit cards and e-wallets are the common banking options to fund an online gambling account. If you can’t control yourself from depositing money into your gambling accounts, then cancelling your credit cards and e-wallet accounts cause inconvenient of transferring money into the gambling accounts; hence reduce the risk of debt problem due to gambling.

Summary

Gambling debt can be a serious problem because it is a highly additive game that may cause you to borrow money from various channels if you have loss all your money. The money you owe will become a debt problem if you can’t pay it later. So, it should be avoided totally. Use the above 4 tips to help you prevent the debt problem due to gambling.

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