Problem gambling is defined as “difficulties in limiting money and/or time spent on gambling which leads to adverse consequences for the gambler, others, or for the community”. For many Australians, gambling is a manageable and socially acceptable activity. But, for some Australians the activity develops into a serious issue with negative effects on health. A number of authors have pointed out that there is a probability that sociological, psychological and biological processes are involved in the etiology of problem gambling. A theory was proposed that suggests that initial success with gambling acts as a driving factor for more likelihood of gambling behaviour to continue even with the success ratio getting declined after the first win. Further, it was proposed that arousal is a key determinant of gambling and the gambler uses gambling to regulate his arousal needs.(Brown R.,1987).Psychodynamic theory of gambling suggests that factors like physical separation such as death of loved ones, loss of job or status, divorce, low self-esteem or a sense of security is responsible for problem gambling. (Upfold D.,2014). The adverse effects of problem gambling are more pronounced among socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, those with poor literacy, people with pre-existing mental health problems, and people living in regions or metropolitan suburbs with high levels of unemployment and economic hardship. Approximately 5 million Australians feel the negative impacts on their health, social life and finances as a result of problem gambling and this includes friends, families, and employers of problem gambler. Other adverse effects of problem gambling include fam...
... middle of paper ...
...ian Commission ). An integrated approach by the state and territory governments, gambling industry, commonwealth government, Non-governmental organisations, and communities is required to address the issue. There stands a need for independent regulators which regulates gambling in each jurisdiction, incorporation of health and consumer concerns in policies and programs, robust and transparent government processes, adequate funding for research into gambling, concentration on well-being of public rather than sectoral concerns or governments’ revenue interests, effective liaison between various government and non-government entities that regulate gambling, increased peer support, public awareness programs & use of media as a platform to generate awareness among people, and delivery of essential information to the gambler about the devastating effects of gambling.
Australia has the biggest gambling losses per capita of any country in the world and that burden will soon fall upon the future young Australians.
Expanding gambling can increase gambling addiction. Compulsive gambling addiction is a social issue that is related to gambling. In the past, compulsive gambling was thought of as an issue or behavior for adults. However, “today’s youth are the first generation to grow up in a society where gambling is legal, easily accessible, and in most cases government supported” (Monaghan & Derevensky 537). Gambling is often advertised in the media as a quick and easy way to “get rich” and is rarely seen
Gambling is very risk and will impact on finance, family, health and job. Firstly family risk, ”spend more time gambling or think about gambling and it can be difficult to maintain a normal life, this creates stress and ha...
Staff, P. G. (2004). Problem Gambling, The Issues, The Options. Toronto, ON: Center for Addiction and Mental Health.
Gambling... Who does not like to gamble? People play lotteries, bet on sport games or try their luck on slot machines with a thought to win some amount of money. In fact, this excitement for gambling can be seen even from early ages; for example, ancient Egyptians used to play dice in 2000 BC or the first casinos opened their doors to customers during the Greeco-Roman period ( Whittaker and Cushman 1 ). Nowadays casino industry is a large business in the United States that brings high revenues and offers various entertainment that attracts people from different areas. So just recently residents and visitors of Worcester, Wicomico and surrounding counties got a great opportunity to try themselves in a new Ocean Downs casino that came into operation couple months ago. Ocean Downs casino is an excellent benefit to the community that helps to improve the economic and social status of the county and also serves as a great entertainment for the adult population.
Compulsive gambling is considered to be a type of impulse-control disorder. Even when the addict is aware that their addiction is negatively affecting their life, they cannot stop the impulse to gamble regardless of the consequences. The mental health community distinguishes between problem gambling and gambling addiction. Problem gambling is any gambling behavior that affects your life. Gambling addiction is where the person is unable to resist the impulse to gamble. The must gamble regardless of the consequences. A common myth is that problem gamblers have to gamble every day. When in reality it can be either frequent or infrequent. It is normally cyclic. Where there are periods of gambling, followed by rest periods and then back to gambling. People can go for months without gambling and still be considered to have a gambling addiction (Saison).
“Problem gambling, also known as gambling addiction or compulsive gambling, is defined as the urge to gamble despite harmful negative consequences or a desire to stop” (Northstar Problem Gambling Alliance 2015). Karen Frazier states, nearly 3 percent or 6 million adults and 500,000 teens meet the criteria for problem gambling (Frazier, 2015). Legalized Gambling has many positive aspects, and it should be noted that though a large number of citizens are considered “problem gamblers,” the majority of the population gambles causally and in moderation.
Gambling has been around since 2300 B.C. It has its positive and negative effects; it also has somewhat of a positive impact on the economy. It stimulates most communities by creating jobs and generates tax revenue for state and local governments. The gambling industry in “2002 and the commercial casino industry provided 350,000 jobs in the United States” (americangaming.org). Even though gambling can bring a lot of economic growth to the economy there is still an argument going on today whether it is a great choice to legalize it everywhere.
The adrenaline-rushing feeling of gambling offers people the idea that opportunity lies within their hands. Unfortunately, there are far too many consequences to gambling to even begin to count. To win you must play, and to win big you must play big. As more gamblers can recall their losses rather than their winnings, gamblers are often dealt with poor hands and must play the risky game to stay alive. Even though gambling has so many faults, some still fall under its corruptions because of gambling’s deceiving fallacies.
6). Depression can lead to suicidal thoughts or actions, especially after losing an excessive amount of money at a casino. According to Hjelmeland, a middle-aged mother overdosed on antidepressants after a big financial loss. He states, “ . . . the number of problem gamblers range from only one to three percent of all adult Americans, but for the people affected and their families compulsive gambling is unquestionably a serious problem.” (78) Not only does it cause internal personal issues, it affects those around the gambler as
Gambling affects an individual at personal level causing increased incidents of divorce, family violence, child neglect and at community level a problem gambler tend to resort to fraud, embezzlement or tax invasion. An action to fight unhealthy gambling practice at primary and secondary level will further help reduce the major burden of disease in Australia and improve the health of public.
While ethics has been at the heart of controversies regarding gambling, the ethical problems of gambling are yet to be established or determined. These problems or issues can be determined through the use of ethical theories and perspectives, which help in providing insights on whether gambling is an ethical or unethical behavior. Actually, the determination of a suitable position when addressing the issue of ethical problems of gambling requires the consideration of arguments and counterarguments using ethical theories and perspectives. Ethical theories and perspectives provide the basis for rational evaluation of the morality of gambling in relation to its benefits and harm to the
It creates a class of addicts driven to compulsive gambling. A negative effect on the physical aspect can include getting physically violent which can cause one to harm innocent people. This can happen if a person keeps losing and runs out of money. When one gets addicted in placing bets, one starts to prioritize bets over his/her family and over his/her needs. Winning also has its disadvantages. When one wins, they can start to lose control of the cash and continue to spending. To be brief, if one gambles, one continually ends up a loser.
Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our government has sought out a few solutions that help those who have developed an addiction and prevent a further increase in the number of people becoming addicted. Personally, my outlook on the problem is that it needs a better solution. I think that a higher funding to gambling addiction clinics, more ordinance and restriction laws, and more prevention and awareness programs should bee brought into consideration in order to lower the amount of people who become addict to gambling.
As individuals, we are responsible for ourselves, including the decisions we make. However, with the temptations of making “easy money” and the dreams of hitting that million-dollar jackpot, these decisions make it hard for individuals to resist, which traps them into making poor decisions. With today’s economy, individuals are susceptible to mounting pressures from finances, work and a fast paced lifestyle. Even though these are everyday factors in our lives, they contribute to our stress level. Many times it is drugs or alcohol that individuals turn to, but there is also another very addicting behavior that many people turn to, gambling. There has been a rise in pathological gambling in the past 10 years and it is only increasing. With this fact, gambling is only banned in two states in the whole United States of America. What are the problems associated with pathological gambling and is the government and casinos acting ethically by propagating such an addicting act?